In the wake of countrywide protests against
the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA),
Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that
there was no connection between National Population
Register (NPR) and the National Register of
Citizens (NRC).
But these remarks came on the same day when
Union Cabinet approved an allocation of Rs.
3941.35 crores for NPR.
In this backdrop, let us see if there is any
link between NRC and NPR on the basis of the
existing legal framework governing them.
Welcome one and all and my name is Sandeep
Bodla, I am a practising advocate in Hyderabad
High Court.
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Now lets’ get into it.
What is NPR?
NPR means the "National Population Register",
which has its base in the rules framed by
the Central Government in 2003, under the
Citizenship Act, 1955 called the Citizenship
(Registration of Citizens and Issue of National
Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
Incidentally, these are the same rules which
give a legal framework for National Register
of Indian Citizens as well (more on this below).
Rule 2(l) of these Rules define 'Population
Register' as :
"Population Register means the register containing
details of persons usually residing in a village
or rural area or town or ward or demarcated
area (demarcated by the Registrar General
of Citizen Registration) within a ward in
a town or urban area;"
The Office of the Registrar General & Census
Commissioner describes NPR as "a register
of usual residents of the country."
A usual resident for the purpose of NPR is
a person who has resided in a place for 6
months or more and intends to reside there
for a period of another 6 months or more.
The following demographic details of every
individual were taken for NPR in 2010 :
• Name of person
• Relationship to head of household
• Father's name
• Mother's name
• Spouse's name (if married)
• Sex
• Date of Birth
• Marital status
• Place of birth
• Nationality (as declared)
• Present address of usual residence
• Duration of stay at present address
• Permanent residential address
• Occupation/Activity
• Educational qualification
Who prepares the NPR?
The Registrar General, India acts as the National
Registration Authority for NPR.
Incidentally, the same officer also functions
as the Registrar General of Citizen Registration
for NRC.
The preparation of the NPR is carried out
under the aegis of the Central Government.
Under Sub-rule 4 in Rule 3 of the 2003 Citizenship
Rules, the Central Government can decide the
date by which the NPR should be prepared.
The data for National Population Register
was first collected in 2010 along with the
house listing phase of Census of India, 2011.
The updating of this data was done during
2015 by conducting door to door survey.
On July 31, 2019, the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs issued the gazette notification for
starting the information collection process
for NPR throughout the country (except Assam)
the process will begin on 1st April, 2020,
and is expected to be completed by 30th September,
2020.
Another interesting point that I have been
also asked by many of my friends is that if
census and NPR are one and the same?
Well, they seem similar to the common person
at first, but there are some key differences
between a regular census exercise carried
out every decade and the NPR exercise.
So, let’s see the differences now.
What is the difference between NPR and Census?
Census is an exercise carried out under the
Census Act, 1948.
Census data is based on self-declaration made
by the persons without verification.
NPR is carried out as per the 2003 Citizenship
Rules.
Under these Rules, it is compulsory for a
person to share the demographic data for preparation
of NPR.
Therefore, these Rules have a coercive element,
as they penalize non-cooperating persons with
fines and penalties.
No Penal consequences for failure to give
data during the census process.
Failure to comply with the NPR data collection
can expose one to penal consequences under
Rule 17.
It may be noted that both these processes
are carried under the supervision of a single
office: the Office of Registrar General of
India and Census Commissioner.
What is NRC/NRIC?
NRC/NRIC means National Register of Indian
Citizens.
This has its base in Section 14A of the Citizenship
Act, which says, among other things, that:
1.
The Central Government may compulsorily register
every citizen of India and issue a national
identity card to him.
2.
The Central Government may maintain a National
Register of Indian Citizens and for that purpose
establish a National Registration Authority.
Rule 3(1) of the 2003 Rules states that the
Registrar General shall establish and maintain
the National Register of Indian Citizens.
The National Register of Indian Citizens will
be divided into sub-parts consisting of the
State Register of Indian Citizens, the District
Register of Indian Citizens, the Sub-district
Register of Indian Citizens and the Local
Register of Indian Citizens.
Is there any link between NPR and NRC?
A bare reading of 2003 Rules reveals that
NPR lays the foundation for NRC.
The NRC will contain the details of the persons
after "due verification made from" the NPR.
This is clear from Rule 3(5), which says :
"(5) The Local Register of Indian citizens
shall contain details of persons after due
verification made from the Population Register".
For making NRC, the particulars entered in
the NPR is first verified by the Local Register
of Citizens as per Rule 4(3).
Following this verification, the NRC is finalized,
after removing 'doubtful citizens'.
The Rules give power to the Local Register
to mark 'doubtful citizens' after the verification
of NPR particulars.
Rule 4(4) says:
"During the verification process, particulars
of such individuals, whose Citizenship is
doubtful, shall be entered by the Local Registrar
with appropriate remark in the Population
Register for further enquiry and in case of
doubtful Citizenship, the individual or the
family shall be informed in a specified proforma
immediately after the verification process
is over."
The 'doubtful citizens' are given an opportunity
of hearing before removal.
After that, a draft NRC for the local area
is published.
People are granted even opportunity to raise
objections against inclusions in the NRC.
Following this, the final NRC is published.
It is also pertinent to note that both NPR
and NRC are under the same office (The Registrar
General of India functions as the Registrar
General of Citizen Registration).
Is NPR the first step for NRC?
It is not necessary that NPR will lead to
NRC.
As stated above, NPR was first made in 2010
and updated in 2015.
This was not followed by NRC.
However, the preparation of an NRC as per
the 2003 Rules can be done only after NPR.
So, NPR is a necessary pre-condition for NRC.
The present dispensation has on many occasions
expressed its intention to bring in nationwide
NRC.
Even during the Parliament discussion of the
Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, Home Minister
Amit Shah had spoken about the intention to
prepare nationwide NRC.
Several statements of the government, as made
in press releases, replies in Parliament and
documents of Census department, indicate that
NPR 2020 is intended as the first step for
NRC.
There are reports that the questionnaire for
the 2020 NPR is different from the 2010 NPR.
The 2020 NPR 'Schedule' asks about details
of the date of birth and place of birth of
one's parents, in addition to the details
sought in the 2010 NPR(mentioned above).
The citizenship status of one's parents is
a determining factor for citizenship by birth
after the 1987 and 2003 amendments to Citizenship
Act 1955.
This could be an additional factor showing
a nexus between NPR and a possible NRC.
Why is NRC problematic?
The idea of asking a person who had been residing
in India for several years to prove citizenship
before administrative authorities on the basis
of documents can be problematic at the implementation
level.
This can lead to bureaucratic high handedness
and arbitrariness, especially when a large
section of the Indian population is uneducated
and backward.
The recently concluded Assam NRC process,
which excluded nearly 2 million persons, is
an example.
There are reports that the process was riddled
with flaws, leading to arbitrary exclusions.
The 2003 Rules also create a category of "doubtful
citizen" (See Para 4.3) - a bizarre category
that is inherently subjective and open to
administrative interpretation.
There are no guidelines mentioned as to how
this unfettered discretion to mark 'doubtful
citizens' is to be exercised.
The Rules themselves say nothing about what
happens if you are found to be doubtful.
But the amendments made to Foreigners (Tribunals)
Order 1964 in 2019 empower a District Magistrate
to refer a 'doubtful citizen' to a Foreigners
Tribunal.
Another provision in the Rules which can lead
to a lot of hassles is Rule 4(6)(a), which
enables any person to file objections against
the inclusion of any person in the Local Register
of Citizens.
This can be a problematic provision, with
a lot of possibilities of abuse, where executive
officers, without formal judicial training,
act at the helm.
There are reports of Foreigners Tribunals
acting casually and callously, to pass orders
without reasons.
As per the present law, the burden will be
on the individual to prove citizenship.
So, the consequences of any wrongful exercise
of discretionary powers of the NRC officials
could be drastic: the de-legitimization of
a person.
It can be devastating for a majority of Indians
in inverse order to their proximity to privilege,
paperwork and social power.
Since there is no official notification regarding
NRC, it is premature to talk about what documents
may be sufficient to prove citizenship.
Yet, the framework of the NRC Rules places
an individual at the mercy of administrative
officers, who can put one to a lot of hassles
and hardship by an arbitrary exercise of powers.
Is there any link between CAA and NRC?
There is no apparent link between CAA and
the NRC.
But there were remarks by the Amit Shah during
the campaign for 2019 elections that the Government
will bring NRC, which will be followed by
the CAA in the order of chronology.
When the protests against CAA intensified
across the nation, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said on Sunday that there was no discussion
on NRC.
CAA may come in aid of at least a section
of persons who may happen to get excluded
from a possible nationwide NRC, in case they
prove that they are non-Muslim migrants who
had fled religious persecution from Pakistan,
Bangladesh or Afghanistan and that they had
entered India before December 31, 2014.
The possible impact of CAA on the Assam NRC
list is also a matter which will be highly
discussed.
Some of the news coverage related to CAA protests
show the great opposition that the Modi Government
is facing over this issue.
Although these news outlets are covering the
protests, not many of them are aware of these
legal nuances.
Therefore, my endeavour here is to help you
to understand the legal framework behind issue
and help you all exercise our democratic rights
in an informed and peaceful manner.
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