'Won't make names not figuring in NRC public'

NRC authority to maintain privacy of people

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 8: Neither the NRC authority nor the Supreme Court of India welcomes invasion of one’s privacy. In conformity with this principle, the NRC authority has decided not to make public names of people not figuring in the final NRC. The decision has already got approval from the apex court.

The Supreme Court of India heard the NRC case on Tuesday. During the hearing, Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela has informed the apex court’s division bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman that it wants to keep the names of people not figuring the NRC being updated a secret so as not to let any invasion of their privacy. Hajela has appealed to the apex court to allow the NRC authority to intimate NRC applicants not figuring in the final  NRC personally, without making their names available in any public domain. The bench, in principle, has given its nod to the plan drawn by the NRC authority.

Meanwhile, Hajela has also informed the Supreme Court of India that the verification of yet-to-be-verified NRC documents is not going on house to house. “Applicants are called to NRC seva kendras for the verification of their documents. Some applicants who have submitted documents issued by authorities from other States will also be called to NRC seva kendras for hearing for the verification of their documents,” Hejela informed the Court. The court has given its nod to the proposal.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court bench has expressed its satisfaction at the NRC update work and asked Hajela to go ahead with works for the publication of the second and final draft NRC on June 30, and complete the verification process by May 31, 2018.

The next hearing of the case will be on July 2, 2018, after the publication of the final draft NRC.

Leaders of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the APW were also present at the hearing.  Talking to the media later, AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath and chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya have said that the process of verification of NRC documents has reached the crucial and final stage. They have appealed to all employees engaged on NRC duty to verify each and every document minutely so as not to allow any foreigner in the final NRC.              

The first part draft NRC has already published names of 1.90 crore applicants against a total of 3.29 crore NRC applicants.