Six Years After Final NRC, Supreme Court Asks: Where Are the Identity Cards?

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice in a writ petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU), seeking directions to the Union of India and the Registrar General of Citizen Registration to complete the long-pending process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

The petitioners have urged the Court to direct the authorities to take all statutory steps left unfinished since the publication of the Final NRC on August 31, 2019. Specifically, they have sought the issuance of National Identity Cards to those whose names are included in the final list and the release of rejection slips/orders to those excluded, thereby enabling the commencement of the appeal process before the Foreigners’ Tribunals.

According to the petition, despite the publication of the Final NRC more than six years ago, the authorities have not carried out the mandatory actions prescribed under the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. These include the issuance of identity cards to the 3.11 crore citizens found eligible (as per Rule 13) and the release of rejection slips and initiation of appeals for the 19 lakh people excluded (under Paragraph 8 of the Schedule to Rule 4A).

Also Read: আধাৰ কাৰ্ডেৰে আপুনি উলিয়াব পাৰিব ধন !

The petitioners contend that the failure to execute these steps has rendered the NRC exercise incomplete, arbitrary, and unconstitutional, violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice A.S. Chandurkar, before whom Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising appeared on behalf of the petitioners. Jaising submitted that it was the fundamental right of a citizen to obtain an identity card confirming their citizenship following the NRC process.

At the outset, Justice Narasimha questioned the petitioners’ locus standi, asking, “Why here?” In response, Sibal pointed out that the Supreme Court itself had monitored the NRC updating process between 2013 and 2019. Jaising clarified that the scope of the present plea was limited to seeking implementation of the final step—issuing identity cards—and emphasized the urgency of the matter in light of upcoming elections.

Also Read: Assam: Missing College Girl’s Body Found in Septic Tank in Jorhat; 63-Year-Old Man Confesses to Rape & Murder

“The exercise is complete. There is no dispute over who is in or out of the register. We are only seeking the last statutory step — issuance of identity cards,” Jaising submitted. However, Justice Narasimha observed that such relief could appropriately be sought before the High Court under Article 226, rather than invoking Article 32 jurisdiction.

Jaising argued that the petition directly involves the fundamental right of recognized citizens to obtain national identity cards, adding, “The Supreme Court monitored the entire NRC process for five years. Having completed 99.9% of the work, only the final 1% — the issuance of identity cards — remains.”

Supporting her argument, Sibal noted, “We only seek execution of the orders so that those included receive their identity cards, and those excluded can exercise their right to appeal. Six years have passed, yet the authorities have remained silent.”

After hearing the submissions, the bench issued notice to the Union Government, the Government of Assam, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, and the State NRC Coordinator, seeking their responses.