SC orders transfer of Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela to MP

New Delhi: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the transfer of senior bureaucrat Prateek Hajela, who is also the state coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) released in Assam on August 31, to his native state Madhya Pradesh on deputation.

The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, also directed the Assam government to complete all formalities regarding his transfer from Assam within seven days. Hajela will be on deputation for a maximum period in the central state, the SC bench said.

Sources in Supreme Court said that the CJI refused to share the reason for the transfer order when attorney general KK Venugopal asked him.

Earlier, Hajela filed an affidavit in the SC where he requested the court to relieve him from all responsibilities of the NRC as he was receiving threats to his life.

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Hajela was given responsibility of preparing the Assam NRC and after a four-year-long grueling process, he, under the direct supervision of the SC, released the final NRC in Assam on August 31. Names of over 19 lakh people were excluded from the list. However, some of the leading organisations of the state have expressed their anguish as according to them, names of illegal immigrants have been included in the list.

For his alleged discrepancies in preparation of the final NRC, two cases have already been registered against him. Allegations like financial irregularities have also been raised against the 1995-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.