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Hitesh Dev Sharma Moves Supreme Court Seeking NRC Re-verification

By Wahidur Rahman |

New Delhi/Guwahati: Former State Coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Hitesh Dev Sharma, has approached the Supreme Court seeking a re-verification of the Assam NRC, alleging large-scale irregularities and wrongful inclusion of foreigners.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Atul Chandurkar admitted Sharma’s petition and issued notices to the Central Government, the Assam Government, the State Coordinator of NRC, and the Registrar General of India.

The final NRC, published on August 31, 2019, left out around 19 lakh applicants, including a significant number of Bengali Hindus and Muslims. Allegations of forged documents and software manipulations during the update process, which cost the exchequer over ₹1,600 crore, soon surfaced. Sharma has repeatedly claimed that names of foreigners were included in the list, undermining the integrity of the exercise.

The NRC issue is deeply rooted in Assam’s history. Since the 1970s, the state has witnessed waves of protests against illegal immigration, particularly following the influx of people during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The Assam Agitation (1979–1985), led by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), saw 855 people sacrifice their lives demanding the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners. This movement culminated in the 1985 Assam Accord, which promised an updated NRC to safeguard the rights of genuine citizens.

However, the exercise remained stalled for decades until the Supreme Court’s intervention in 2013, following which the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government initiated the update. After six years of verification, the final list was published in 2019.

Sharma, who has long voiced concerns on social media, said his petition aims to ensure a “correct and error-free NRC,” describing it as a matter of national importance and identity.

The case is likely to reignite political debates in Assam, where the NRC remains one of the most sensitive and polarizing issues, with successive governments accused of using the foreigners’ issue for electoral gains without delivering on promises of a complete and error-free citizens’ register.

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