No immediate detention, 200 FTs to be set up says Assam govt ahead of final NRC list

New Delhi, Aug 28: The Assam Government has said that those left out of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not face detention immediately.

"Those who are left out of the NRC will not face any kind of detention until the foreigners' tribunals passes orders about their status," said a notice that was signed by Kumar Sanjay Krishna, additional chief secretary of Assam.

The final NRC list will be published on August 31 and around 32 lakh applicants may be left out. It may be recalled that the draft NRC that was released in July last year year had excluded 40 lakh applicants. In another list that was released in June, another 1 lakh applicants had been left out.

The notice further stated, "under the provisions of Foreigners Act, 1946 and Foreigners Tribunal Order, 1964, only foreigners' tribunals (FTs) are empowered to declare a person as a foreigner. Thus, non-inclusion of a person's name in NRC doesn't by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner."

Further the notice said that the left out of the NRC can file appeals for inclusion in the list at the designated FTs. 200 new FTs are being set up and the state would issue a notification to that effect soon. The 200 new FTs will be set up soon in suitable places, so that the process of filing appeals and hearings can take place smoothly. The state government would take adequate steps to provide legal help to those poor applicants who are left out of the NRC through the district administration and legal aid authorities, the notice also added.