SC concern over post-NRC logistics!

By: Pranjal Das

What will be the fate of the foreigners to be detected through the NRC process?

Nobody seems to have any clear answer even as NRC is just two and half month away, as Supreme Court showed extreme urgency urging the Government to use even the summer break of Judiciary.

The Solicitor General today gave outer lines of the some of the efforts the Government was planning but the Supreme Court was not impressed.

The two-prong strategy of the Government was to open negotiation with Bangladesh for deportation and of an industrial size judicial mechanism to handle the 20-30 lakh names that are expected to be out of the NRC.

All these 30 -40 lakh name shall have a separate will case and shall have to go through a process of tribunals which will eventually pronounce the citizenship.

Meanwhile Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Thursday said in the Supreme Court that there were diplomatic discussions going on between India and Bangladesh to deport the Bangladeshi nationals, who were being detained in different detention camps of Assam.

Moreover, the Solicitor General also informed the court that the government is planning to set up 200 tribunals out of the proposed 1000 tribunals in the first phase in Assam.

But the SC bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi asked the government how it has been planning to acquire the judges for the 200 tribunals and what could be the deadline to set up those tribunals.

The apex court further asked the government to file an affidavit on the steps that have been taken in this regard. The bench said that if necessary, then there will be hearing on the matter in the 'Vacation Bench' of the SC during summer vacation.

On the other hand, reacting to the development the AASU urged the Central government to discuss the matter of deportation of illegal foreigners with the Bangladesh government. The AASU leaders also said that they are currently planning to intervene in the detention centre case.