BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 23: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a leading Islamic organization of the country, and Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad of Assam have decided to move the Supreme Court to challenge the Gauhati High Court's recent order rejecting residency certificates issued by panchayats as a valid document for the ongoing NRC update exercise in the State.
Hafiz Ahmed of Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad told The Sentinel on Thursday that the High Court's order has left in the lurch over 45 lakhs residents of the State, since they had applied to enroll their mes in the updated NRC by submitting residency certificates. He said since residency certificate was earlier considered as one of the valid documents for NRC applicants to prove linkage with their forefathers who were residents of Assam in between 1951 and March 24, 1971, the High Court's order would go against lakhs of genuine citizens of the country.
The Assam government has already informed the Supreme Court that it will not file an appeal against the High Court's order. The Supreme Court in the meantime has asked the NRC authorities to go ahead and publish the draft NRC within this year by keeping aside over 45 lakh residency certificates.
Ahmed said if the NRC authorities go ahead to publish the draft NRC by keeping aside mes of over 45 lakh applicants, it would have serious repercussions in the State. Many genuine citizens will be left out from the updated NRC, he claimed.
"We will make a plea before the Supreme Court to give a direction to the NRC authorities to find an altertive suitable document for these 45 lakh applicants," he said.
The tiol Register of Citizens (NRC), first compiled in Assam in 1951, is currently being updated to include the mes of those persons who stayed in Assam in between 1951 and March 24, 1971 and their decedents. The document is being updated to find out genuine citizens of India and solve the vexed illegal foreigners issue.
Ahmed said the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad will jointly file a petition in the Supreme Court within this month.
