SC lashes out at Centre for obstructing NRC proceedings

The Supreme Court Tuesday came down heavily on the Centre over the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) process and said it is hell-bent on not allowing the work to continue. The top court rapped Ministry of Home Affairs for its plea seeking to stall the NRC work for two weeks keeping in mind the role of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the election duty.

Reiterating that July 31 deadline for the completion of NRC exercise will not be extended, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the Centre is not cooperating in the NRC process and it seems the entire effort of the MHA is to destroy the NRC process. The apex court asked the Election Commission to consider exempting certain state officers from election duty to ensure that the NRC process continues.

(With inputs from agencies.)