In Brief
The Supreme Court addressed critical issues in the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRC) preparation in Assam. The Court upheld the special procedure under Rule 4A of the Citizenship Rules requiring NRC claims to be linked to the 1951 National Register or electoral rolls up to 24 March 1971. The Court approved the State Coordinator's proposals regarding descendant eligibility under Citizenship Act Sections 3(1)(b) and (c), while keeping pending the broader constitutional question of whether Section 3(1)(a) applies. The Court directed that IMDT Act orders be governed by Gauhati High Court precedent, ordered online publication of exclusion lists on a family-wise basis, and imposed Aadhaar-level data security standards. The NRC exercise cannot be reopened on different parameters.
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