Seven years after Assam’s final National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published, the Union government has informed the Supreme Court that the process of issuing rejection slips to nearly 1.9 million people excluded from the register has not even begun. The disclosure exposes a prolonged administrative impasse over a process that was meant to establish a formal record of citizenship claims and provide those excluded with a route to challenge the decision.
According to Hindustan Times, the Registrar General of India (RGI), in an affidavit dated September 28, informed a bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe that the state NRC coordinator had yet to begin issuing rejection slips. The RGI attributed the delay to the fact that the NRC data had not been shared with its office, as the security framework required for the data was still being prepared.
The affidavit filed by the RGI in Assam State Jamiat Ulama v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 839 of 2026, confirms that the process remains incomplete despite repeated directions and correspondence between the concerned authorities.
“Enactment of the security regime for NRC data by the state coordinator is under progress and hence data has not been shared with the Registrar General of India,” the affidavit states. It further explains that the RGI can formally notify the final NRC only after receiving the data from the state coordinator.
The immediate consequence is that people excluded from the final list remain without the rejection slips intended to facilitate their appeals before Foreigners Tribunals. The delay is particularly significant because the Supreme Court had directed the state NRC coordinator as far back as May 8, 2018, to develop a mechanism for issuing these documents.
Supreme Court directive remains unimplemented
The Supreme Court’s May 8, 2018, order required the state NRC coordinator to develop a system through which those excluded from the final register could obtain rejection slips and pursue appeals before Foreigners Tribunals. The document is intended to communicate the outcome of the NRC process and facilitate a challenge to exclusion. The RGI’s latest affidavit records that, despite subsequent directions and administrative discussions, the state coordinator has not commenced the process.
The affidavit traces the delay through a series of official communications. At a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary on February 22, 2020, it was decided that rejection slips in cases where the results were considered correct should be issued immediately, with March 31, 2020, set as the deadline. Cases involving discrepancies between the results recorded in physical records and those entered into the computer system were to be referred to the concerned Deputy Commissioners for clarification. On November 5, 2020, the RGI wrote to the state coordinator, asking that the issuance of rejection slips be completed in accordance with the applicable standard operating procedures, guidelines and Supreme Court directions. The process, however, remained uninitiated.
The state coordinator had earlier informed the RGI, through a letter dated October 8, 2020, that rejection slips could be issued only after the RGI formally notified the final NRC. The coordinator also stated that the security framework for the NRC data was under preparation and that the data had therefore not been transferred to the RGI.
This has left the process caught between two administrative requirements: the RGI says it cannot notify the final NRC without the data, while the state coordinator has maintained that rejection slips cannot be issued until that notification takes place. The result is that the Supreme Court-mandated mechanism for enabling excluded people to challenge their exclusion has remained stalled for years.
Security framework for NRC data still pending
The delay is linked to the Supreme Court’s August 13, 2019, direction that the NRC data be protected through a security regime comparable to the safeguards governing Aadhaar data. The court had directed that the lists of inclusions and exclusions be made available to the state government, the Union government and the RGI only after the prescribed safeguards were put in place. According to the RGI’s affidavit, the state coordinator is still working on implementing this framework. Until the data is shared, the RGI says it cannot formally notify the final register.
The affidavit thus places the responsibility for the continuing delay within an unresolved administrative process involving data security, transfer of records and formal notification. It does not, however, alter the practical consequence for those excluded: the rejection slips have not been issued, and the appeal mechanism envisaged by the court has not been operationalised through this step.
The prolonged delay raises serious questions about the effectiveness of a citizenship verification exercise when the administrative steps necessary to communicate its outcome and facilitate legal challenges remain incomplete years after publication.
Nearly 19.07 lakh people excluded from the final NRC
The NRC update was notified by the Union government in December 2013 and undertaken in accordance with Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship Rules, 2003. Rule 4A and the Schedule appended to the Rules prescribe the framework for preparing the NRC in Assam. The exercise was conducted against the backdrop of the Assam Accord, which established March 24, 1971, as the relevant cut-off date for determining the citizenship claims of persons who migrated to Assam from the territory that is now Bangladesh, subject to the applicable legal provisions.
According to the RGI’s affidavit, applications were received between May and August 2015. A total of approximately 68.27 lakh applications covering 3.30 crore people were submitted, accompanied by around 6.6 crore documents intended to establish eligibility for inclusion.
Applicants were required to furnish documentary evidence linking themselves or their ancestors to the prescribed legacy records, including the 1951 NRC or electoral rolls up to midnight on March 24, 1971, along with other admissible documents. Where necessary, officials undertook further verification, including inquiries concerning the authenticity of documents and the linkage between applicants and their ancestors.
The complete draft NRC was published on July 30, 2018. Those whose names were missing could submit claims for inclusion, while objections could also be filed against entries. The RGI’s affidavit records that 36,26,630 people filed claims for inclusion and that 1,87,633 objections were received by December 31, 2018.
Following the disposal of claims and objections, the supplementary lists were published on August 31, 2019. The final exercise found 3,11,21,004 people eligible for inclusion, while 19,06,657 people were left out, including those who had not submitted claims.
The exclusion of nearly 19.07 lakh people did not, in itself, eliminate their right to pursue the legal remedies contemplated under the NRC framework. Those dissatisfied with the outcome were entitled to challenge the decision before Foreigners Tribunals. The absence of rejection slips, however, has left the process without the formal documentation intended to enable such challenges.
Separate Supreme Court challenge over NRC identity cards
The dispute over rejection slips forms part of a broader set of proceedings concerning the incomplete implementation of the Assam NRC. In a separate matter, All Assam Minorities Students Union v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1030 of 2025, the petitioners have challenged the failure of the authorities to issue National Identity Cards to people whose names were included in the final NRC published in August 2019.
The petitions have been brought by organisations including the All Assam Minorities Students Union (AAMSU), Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and the Assam Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad. They seek implementation of the legal and administrative steps that, according to them, remain outstanding despite the publication of the register.
The petitioners rely on Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which provides for the registration of citizens and the issuance of national identity cards, and Rule 13 of the Citizenship Rules, 2003, concerning the issuance of National Identity Cards to citizens whose particulars are entered in the National Register of Indian Citizens.
They have also sought the issuance of rejection slips to those excluded from the NRC and the initiation of the corresponding appeal process under Paragraph 8 of the Schedule to Rule 4A of the Citizenship Rules, 2003.
The petitioners contend that the failure to issue identity cards to those included and rejection slips to those excluded has left the NRC exercise incomplete. Their case raises questions concerning the implementation of the statutory framework and the constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, which protect equality before the law and the right to life and personal liberty, respectively.
The distinction between the two categories is important. People included in the NRC are seeking the identity cards contemplated under the statutory framework, while those excluded are seeking rejection slips that would enable them to challenge the outcome. Both issues concern outstanding steps following the publication of the final register, but they involve separate legal and administrative requirements.
The RGI’s affidavit in the proceedings brought by Assam State Jamiat Ulama also states that the question of issuing NRC identity cards to those included in the final list is pending before the Supreme Court in separate proceedings.
Re-verification plea adds another layer to the dispute
The NRC proceedings are further complicated by a separate plea filed by Hitesh Dev Sarma, the former state NRC coordinator, seeking a complete, comprehensive and time-bound re-verification of the draft and supplementary NRC lists. According to the RGI’s affidavit, Sarma filed an interlocutory application on May 14, 2021, in the proceedings in Assam Public Works v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 274 of 2009, seeking re-verification of the NRC.
The affidavit also refers to a separate petition, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 740 of 2025, filed by Sarma on July 24, 2025, seeking comprehensive and time-bound re-verification on the ground of alleged inaccuracies in the NRC lists. The RGI has noted that the Supreme Court disposed of the original proceedings in W.P. (C) No. 274 of 2009, along with pending applications, through its order dated October 17, 2024. The affidavit also refers to the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which establishes the special framework for citizenship in Assam under the Assam Accord.
These proceedings form part of the continuing legal contest over the NRC’s preparation, accuracy and implementation. The outstanding questions surrounding re-verification, identity cards and rejection slips must nevertheless be distinguished: a demand to re-examine the register is not the same as the immediate issue of enabling people already excluded to pursue the remedy contemplated under the existing framework.
Supreme Court adjourns matter to November 6
The Supreme Court has adjourned the matter concerning the rejection slips to November 6 after the Assam government sought additional time to file its response, Hindustan Times reported. The proceedings arise from petitions by Assam State Jamiat Ulama, AAMSU and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, among others, seeking the issuance of rejection slips to people excluded from the NRC and identity cards for those included.
The immediate question before the court is not merely whether the NRC data can be formally notified, but how the outstanding steps required to give effect to the register will be completed. The RGI’s affidavit confirms that the rejection-slip process has yet to begin, while the security framework required before the transfer of data remains under preparation.
The delay has persisted despite the Supreme Court’s directions, administrative discussions and the RGI’s own communication to the state coordinator in November 2020. For the nearly 19.07 lakh people excluded from the final list, the absence of rejection slips continues to obstruct access to the mechanism intended to challenge their exclusion.
Seven years after the final NRC was published, the register remains caught in an unresolved administrative and legal process. Until the data is transferred, the final NRC formally notified and rejection slips issued, the exercise will continue to leave a fundamental question unanswered for those excluded: how can they effectively challenge a decision when the document intended to facilitate that challenge has not been issued?
Related:
When Belonging Must Be Proved: Assam’s Kashem Ali wins long citizenship battle
CJP helps secure Ajabha Khatun’s release after 772 days in Assam’s Matia detention camp
Census 2027: When a population count starts asking for more than just numbers