Ensure fair hearing without truncating registration: SC to NRC coordinator

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked National Register of Citizens (NRC) coordinator, Prateek Hajela, to consider and give a fair hearing to all the persons who wish to get themselves enrolled in the registration process, without cutting short the process and complete the same by July 31.

The apex court vacation bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and also comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose, clarified that IAS officers with judicial experience can head the foreigner tribunals in the case.

The court gave the liberty to Hajela to get the matter listed on any day during vacation.

During the course of the hearing, the court observed, although the deadline of July 31 for publication of the final Assam NRC list is non-negotiable but that does not mean that those who have filed claims for inclusion of their names in the list, should not be heard properly and given procedural chance to prove their case.SC asks NRC coordinator to ensure fair hearing without cutting short registration process

NRC is a register containing names of Indian citizens, which was prepared for the only time in 1951 and is being updated for only Assam to weed out the illegal immigrants.