Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Sunday clarified that National Register of Citizens (NRC) was not an executive-driven process, it is a court-mandated and-monitored exercise.

He assured that the NRC update was "a statutory, transparent and legal process, mandated by the Supreme Court".

"Supreme Court of India mandated the government to deliver on the commitment in 2013. This led to the process of updating the National Register of Citizens in Assam in 2015," the MEA spokesperson clarified.

"For those who are not in the final National Register of Citizen (NRC) list will not be detained and will continue to enjoy all the rights as before till they have exhausted all the remedies available under the law," he assured.

"This is not an executive-driven process. The process is being monitored by SC directly and the government is acting in accordance with the directives issued by the court. The apex court of the land has itself set the deadlines for all steps that have been taken so far," Raveesh Kumar said