New Delhi/Guwahati: In the backdrop of reports that a decorated former army officer has been declared a foreigner by a tribunal in Assam, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the NRC state coordinator to ensure that fair procedure is adopted in dealing with the claims and objections on inclusion of citizens in the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC).
A vacation bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose told state coordinator Prateek Hajela that even though the July 31 deadline for publication of final Assam NRC has to be adhered to, the claims and objections must be dealt with as per the law.
“Your (Hajela) job is to ensure that hearing on claims and objections are done in a fair and proper manner. There is a deadline and a time frame. Just because there is a time frame that does not mean that your officers will cut short the process to complete it,” the bench said.
According to Assam police, Mohammad Sanaullah, a former army officer who had won a President’s medal, was apprehended on Wednesday and sent to a detention camp in after a foreigners’ tribunal declared him a ‘foreigner’.
“There are very disturbing reports in the media. The media is not always correct but sometimes media is right also,” the apex court bench told state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela.
The apex court observed this while hearing the Assam NRC matter.
After the verdict of the tribunal, Saikia said police according to laid down procedure, picked up Sanaullah and took him to the detention camp in Goalpara district to be lodged there.
The apex court said it has gone through the progress report filed by the state coordinator in the matter and the work is going on. The CJI told Hajela to coordinate with district level officers who are involved in the process of dealing with claims and objections so that a proper procedure is adopted.
The bench told him that if he faces any difficulty or pressure from anybody, he can approach the secretary general of the apex court and the matter would be taken up for hearing by the court.
In its order, the bench noted that all claims and objections will be heard and accordingly disposed of well in time to ensure the publication of final NRC for Assam by July 31 this year.
“While doing so, the state coordinator will ensure that all the affected parties will get a fair opportunity of hearing,” the bench said and permitted Hajela to mention the matter before the secretary general of the apex court during the ongoing summer vacation in case any difficulty arises.
It said that the matter would come up for hearing immediately after the summer vacations in July.
Shocking: Cong
The Congress on Thursday hit out at the BJP government over the issue, saying it shows the “high-handedness and flawed manner” in which the NRC exercise is being implemented in the northeastern state.
“Shocking!! BJP Govt has labelled the ‘Foreigner’ tag to a Kargil War Hero! It is an insult to the sacrifice of our brave Armed Forces. This speaks volumes about the high handedness and flawed manner in which the NRC exercise is being implemented in Assam,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
Probe demand
All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) has demanded a high-level probe into the “mysterious” declaration of a former Army man as a foreign national by a foreigners’ tribunal, adds our special correspondent from Guwahati.
AAMSU president, Rejaul Karim Sarkar alleged that Sanaullah was “yet another victim of a conspiracy hatched by the border police”.
The AAMSU president also said that the “it remains a mystery why the home department of the state government totally failed to curb such harassment against people from the minority community”.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Sanaullah’s family will seek justice by challenging the order of the foreigners’ tribunal in Gauhati High court on Friday. (PTI)