A view of the Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Supreme Court on Monday (August 10, 2026) sought responses from the Union government and the State of Assam to petitions for issuance of identity cards to persons included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of August 2019.
A Bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe sought the replies on petitions filed by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and the Assam Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad and others.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for Jamiat, said the Union government and the State were yet to respond despite issuance of notice by the Supreme Court.
Senior advocate Manish Goswami, for ex-NRC coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma, sought re-verification of the NRC list. He contended there were several inaccuracies in the list.
The petition said the appeal process had also not commenced for those who were excluded from the NRC.
Over 3.11 crore names in the NRC list have not received their national identity cards while around 19 lakh were excluded from the register.
“The exercise, which involved not only judicial time but also an expenditure of more than ₹1,600 crore, is virtually at a standstill, as the follow-up steps — issuance of National Identity Cards to included persons as per Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 read with Rule 13 of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 and initiation of appeal process for the excluded persons as per provisions of Clause 8 of the Schedule to the Rules, 2003 — have not been undertaken,” a petition by Assam State Jamiat Ulama, represented by senior advocate M.R. Shamshad, submitted.
They argued that the lack of any action has resulted in prejudice to those whose names were included, as they remain subject to uncertainty and arbitrary treatment.
“The question of citizenship is central to Assam, manifesting in multiple domains from Foreigners’ Tribunals to electoral rolls. Given the State’s socio-political history, including the Assam Movement (1979-1985), the Assam Accord and insertion of Section 6A in 1985, and the enactment of the 2003 Rules with a specific Schedule in 2009, the publication of the NRC was a watershed moment intended to resolve the decades-old question of citizenship and migration in Assam,” the petitioners argued.
Published – August 10, 2026 02:21 pm IST
