Non-issuance of Aadhaar to those named in NRC: SC seeks govt response

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a petition filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sushmita Dev seeking Aadhaar enrolment for people named in the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

A bench of justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha sought responses from the Centre, Registrar General of India, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and the Assam government, as the petition claimed that while persons included in the first NRC list have got Aadhaar cards, the same was not provided to those whose names were added in the second list.

“According to the latest figure, the number of such persons is over 2.7 million,” said advocate Biswajit Deb, appearing for the petitioner, who is a Rajya Sabha member. The Aadhaar Act states that every resident is eligible to have an Aadhaar number, Deb said, adding, “Denial of Aadhaar amounts to denial of basic needs.”

The first NRC list was prepared in December 2017, following which several persons complained of being excluded from the list. The top court, which was examining the roll out of NRC, expanded the scope of consideration of documents to establish continuous residence in the state.

As a result, the state NRC was updated and a supplementary list was brought out in August 2019. “By not providing Aadhaar numbers to the people appearing in the final list dated August 31, 2019, there has been creation of a class within a class, as the people in the final supplementary list are being treated differently from the people whose names appeared in the first draft list on December 31, 2017,” it said.

State officials refused to comment on the matter and said they will file replies to the notice in SC.