'Guilty of contempt of court': SC slams NRC officials for talking to media

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday warned Registrar General of India and Assam National Register of Citizen (NRC) coordinator, Prateek Hajela, against making any statements in the media on modalities of addressing NRC complaints.

The top court questioned what was Hajela and RGI's S Shailesh's intention while making the statements regarding NRC in the media.

It slammed the officials and said, "You are guilty of contempt of court." It spared both the officials because they have "a big job to do".

The court also told them, "Don't forget you are officials of the court, your job is to comply with orders, how can you go to press like this."

The court was referring to a newpaper report which carried the statements of the NRC coordinator. It questioned the authority of both the officials.

The apex court also restrained Hajela and RGI's S Shailesh from talking to media on Assam's NRC henceforth. It stated that the officials will have to seek leave before speaking to the media again on NRC.

The massive Supreme Court-monitored exercise to identify genuine Indian nationals living in Assam excluded over 40 lakh people from the draft list published on July 30, creating a huge political controversy.

(With inputs from PTI)