More than one lakh people whose names were initially included in the draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) are now found to be ineligible to be a citizen of the country. The additional draft exclusion list released on June 26, named 1,02,462 people have to prove their citizenship credentials again. The final NRC will be released on July 31.
The draft NRC published in July last year, excluded a total of 40.07 lakh applicants out of 3.29 crore.
People in Assam are excluded from the NRC lists on three grounds: they are either declared foreigners or doubtful voters, or have cases pending at foreigners tribunals. The third reason they were excluded from the list is because of anomalies found in their applications.
The draft exclusion list, however, did not mention those who had appeared for hearing of claims and objections to inclusion in NRC, which were disposed of between February 15 and June 26. The 40 lakh applicants who were excluded from NRC last year had the option to claim for their inclusion between September 25 and December 31 in 2018. The result of these hearings will be reflected in the NRC’s final lists.
The list is publicly available on the NRC website. Applicants whose names are on the list will be sent “letters of information” (LoIs) providing the reasons behind their exclusions. These applicants have the opportunity to file their claims for inclusion. A disposing officer will hear their complaints. “The submission of a claim and its disposal will be done together,” read an NRC statement. The letters of information will also carry details about the date to file claims for inclusion and when the case will be heard.
In a statement, NRC further mentioned that the hearings will begin on July 5 and the results will be declared in the final NRC. People whose names are not included in the last NRC will have to approach foreigners’ tribunals. However, applicants who were already declared non-national by foreigner’s tribunal cannot file an appeal. Apart from these, people against whom a “reference” has been made by a “competent authority” to a foreigners’ tribunal cannot appeal for inclusion.
Also Read: “Served The Country For 35 Years, But Still No Name On NRC,” Says Ex-Army Man
