SC transfers NRC coordinator Pratik Hajela to Madhya Pradesh

The Supreme Court on Friday transferred the Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela to Madya Pradesh. The court has asked the government to notify the transfer within the next seven days.

Even though the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi refrained from revealing the reasons for the transfer, the apparent danger to Hajela’s life after the publication of the final NRC is being mooted as the basis of the transfer order.

At the hearing, Attorney General KK Venugopal queried the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi if there was a reason for the transfer, on which the CJI responded, “Can an order be without any basis?”.

A 1995-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Hajela was tasked with updating the National Register of Citizens updation in Assam. The final NRC list was published on August 31, from which 19 lakh people were excluded.