The Supreme Court today refused a plea by the government for re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), asserting that it was aware of the situation on the ground and that there was no need to re-verify.

The SC's refusal came on the back of the government seeking sample re-verification of the inclusions in the draft NRC, citing ‘lakhs of wrongful inclusions’. Warning that there should not be any lack of confidence in the NRC process, the government had sought sample re-verification. The govt cited the situation ‘on the ground’ and argued that problem of wrongful inclusions was particularly acute in the districts bordering Bangladesh.

The government had argued for a 20 percent sample re-verification in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10 percent sample re-verification in other districts. It further asserted that there is no space for illegal immigrants and they will be uprooted as India cannot be the refugee capital of the world.

The Supreme Court, however, hit back at the government, observing that it should not assume that it is the only source of information for the court. CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi has observed that they have sources that update the court on the ‘on-ground’ situation, and that as per the facts available with the court, there was no need to order any form of re-verification.

Justice Gogoi had also observed that in the process of verification, re-verification to the extent of 25-27 percent had already taken place and that there was no further need for re-verification.

Amidst the exchange, the state coordinator sought time till August 31, from the SC, for publishing the consolidated, final NRC. He submitted that only the supplementary list can be published by July 31. The SC had earlier directed for the NRC procedure to be completed and for the final list to be published by July 31. The matter will now be heard by the top court on July 23.