New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Union Government, the Assam Government, the Registrar General of Citizen Registration, and the State NRC Coordinator on a writ petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU). The petition seeks completion of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam and issuance of identity cards to those included in the final NRC published on August 31, 2019.
Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising appeared before a bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice A.S. Chandurkar. The petitioners argued that despite the NRC’s completion six years ago, authorities have failed to take the statutory steps required under the Citizenship Rules, 2003. These include issuing National Identity Cards to 3.11 crore verified citizens and rejection slips for 19 lakh excluded individuals, enabling them to appeal before Foreigners’ Tribunals.
Jaising emphasized that citizens have a fundamental right under Article 32 of the Constitution to receive a national identity card confirming their citizenship. She argued that the process is already complete and only the final step remains. Sibal added that the petitioners seek only the execution of existing orders, not a reopening of the verification process.
Justice Narasimha suggested that the petitioners could approach the concerned High Court under Article 226. However, the Court ultimately agreed to issue notice to the respondents, signaling judicial attention to long-standing delays in the NRC’s final implementation phase.
