The CJI observed that if there were 3,000 companies, then it was enough to deploy 2,700 for the polls even after retaining the 167 companies in Assam.
Taking strong exception to the Centre’s submission that work on the National Register of Citizens in Assam will have to be suspended for a while in view of redeployment of central forces for the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi Tuesday said the “Home Ministry does not want NRC work to go on” and the “entire effort from Home Ministry, it seems to me, is to destroy the process”.
The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the work on updating the NRC, said it cannot extend the July 31 deadline already fixed for publication of the final NRC. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Assam, told the bench of CJI Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman that the NRC exercise may have to be suspended from the last date for withdrawal of nominations till two weeks after the date of polling because security forces have to be redeployed.
They also said that the political atmosphere is likely to be highly surcharged in view of the polls and may not be conducive for hearing NRC cases. The bench was told that 167 companies of central armed forces deployed in Assam for NRC work will have to be withdrawn for redeployment in other parts of the country for the elections. This prompted the CJI’s remarks about the Home Ministry. Observing that “there were 1001 ways to get it done” if the government so wished, he asked, “Do you want us to summon the Home Secretary?… government is not cooperating.”
Please click here to read more.