SC chooses 10 documents for NRC enrolment, seeks Centre's response
New Delhi, Sep 5 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday chose 10 identity proof documents from a list of 15 to be accepted as a valid claim of people left out of the final draft of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) and sought the views of the Centre and other stakeholders on the issue.
The bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman picked up the 10 documents suggested by the Assam State co-ordinator of NRC Prateek Hajela for dealing with the claims of about 40 lakh people, left out of the NRC, for their inclusion in the list.
Justice Nariman said that the 10 chosen documents will be authentic and other five can be created.
The bench refused to give Attorney General K. K. Venugopal a copy of the report submitted by the Hajela to the Court in a sealed cover.
As the Attorney General repeatedly urged the Court to give the government a copy of the report carrying 15 suggested documents, Justice Gogoi said: "The Attorney General has sought the report of the State co-ordinator of NRC... At this stage we are of the view that what we have indicated in our order is sufficient."
"The government may be interested. We want to balance the interest of all the stakeholders," the Court told Venugopal as he insisted that "government is extremely interested" in knowing the report.
The Court told the Attorney General that they are extracting 15 suggested documents and also the 10 documents they have chosen are in their order and the government can have those from it.
Seeking the response of the Centre and other stakeholders on the suggested 10 documents that can be relied upon to back the claims for inclusion in citizens register, the Court fixed September 19 for the next hearing.
The court extended the date of the commencement of filing of claims and objections.
As per the schedule, the filing of claims and objections was to commence on August 30 but same was extended on August 28 to a "later date from the proposed one, namely 30th August, 2018".
Besides the Centre, the Court has also sought the response of other stakeholders including Assam Public Works, Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Progressive), Indigenious Tribal Peoples Federation, All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad, Joint Action Committee for Bangali Refugees, All Assam Minorities Students' Union (AAMSU) and Jamait Ulama-i-Hind.
In its August 16 order, the court had asked the eight stakeholders to submit their views on the standard operating procedures prepared by the Centre setting out modalities for the claims and objections to the final draft of the NRC.
Hajela's report was in pursuance to the August 28 order of the court asking him to apprise it of the ramification of the Centre's position that the people left out of the final draft of the NRC be given another chance to establish their claim for inclusion in the list.
The move by the Centre also included changing the legacy and tinkering with the family tree.
The Court had asked Hajela to submit a "comprehensive report indicating the feasibility including the time taken and the advantages/disadvantages that may accrue if the aforesaid modification/change of legacy is permitted".
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Noida student's death: Family cries foul, police says autopsy confirms drowning
Noida (PTI): The family of a 21-year-old university student, who drowned at an abandoned construction site in Noida, Thursday alleged foul play saying there were marks on his body even as the police confirmed drowning as the cause of death.
According to a police statement, sand and water were found in the lungs of the deceased, identified as Harshit Bhatt, while his viscera has been preserved for further examination.
Bhatt, a final-year Bachelor of Physical Education student of the private university and a resident of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, had drowned on Wednesday in a water-filled area at the abandoned construction site in Sector 94, under Sector 126 police station limits.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Saad Miyan Khan said the student had gone to the site along with four friends to celebrate the end of their examinations.
"During the outing, Bhatt entered a nearby water-filled pit to bathe and suddenly drowned," the officer said, adding that the incident was reported to Dial-112 by one of his companions.
Police and PRV personnel rushed to the spot and, with the help of local divers, retrieved him from the water and rushed him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Khan said other students who had entered the water in an attempt to rescue him were safely pulled out and are stable.
Meanwhile, Bhatt's mother has alleged that there were black marks on his body, raising suspicion over the incident.
Police, however, said no formal complaint has been received from the family so far and action will be taken if any complaint is lodged.
An eyewitness, who assisted in the rescue, said he and others rushed to the spot after hearing cries for help and managed to pull out two students.
"They told us it was their last exam and they had come for a party. One of them went deeper into the water while bathing," the eyewitness said.
