SC seeks explanation from Assam on allegations of communal statements by state NRC coordinator

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court sought an explanation from the Assam government and the state coordinator for the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Hitesh Dev Sarma, over his allegedly communal statements in the past.

Chief Justice of India SA Bobde asked the state government and Sarma to explain his Facebook posts in which he had allegedly stated that Muslim settlers should not be allowed to stay in the state even if they spoke Assamese. It came in response to a plea seeking Sarma’s removal from the post owing to his allegedly communal comments.

“He should not be saying all this. You (Assam government) have to explain this,” a bench headed by the CJI said on Monday after senior advocate Kapil Sibal drew the court’s attention to the alleged statement made by the state NRC coordinator.


The court asked the state government and Sarma to respond within four weeks. Sarma had replaced Prateek Hajela as the state NRC coordinator in November 2019.