NEW DELHI, Oct 8 - In a development having wider ramifications, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Government of India and the Election Commission in response to a petition seeking that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be implemented in Tripura.
A Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph heard the petitioner Tripura People�s Front before issuing the notice to the Central government and the Election Commission.
The need for preparing the NRC for Tripura was emphasized in the petition based on the fact that it was necessary to identify and deport illegal immigrants from the state.
The petitioners prayed for a direction from the court asking the authorities concerned to prepare the NRC. They also sought that the Tripura-Bangladesh border be fenced to prevent influx of illegal immigrants.
The matter was tagged with the ongoing case of updating of the NRC in Assam. It has been claimed that while the NRC was prepared way back in 1951, the need for implementing the NRC in Tripura is pressing. The petition claimed that the situation of influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh is worse in Tripura than in Assam.
�The exercise in Assam was necessitated due to the persistent illegal influx problem that has plagued the state for over three decades now. The petitioners respectfully submit that Tripura is worse placed. The uncontrolled influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh to Tripura has caused huge demographic changes in Tripura which earlier was a predominantly tribal state but now has become a non-tribal state,� the petition said.
The petitioners have submitted that it is very necessary to implement the NRC in Tripura in order to identify illegal immigrants, delete their names from the voters� list, and subsequently deport them from India to restore the �socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-political equilibrium of Tripura.�
The petitioners have also prayed for foreigners tribunals to be set up and for appropriate steps to be taken to deport illegal immigrants. The petitioners have also called for sealing of the Tripura-Bangladesh border with increased patrolling to prevent the inflow of illegal immigrants into Indian territory.
