Supreme Court: In an application seeking directions concerning the appointment of a qualified technical expert to assist the National Task Force in the comprehensive and scientific analysis of survey data, and directions to the Ministry of Education for administrative and infrastructural support, a Division Bench of J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ., allowed the application and issued the following directions —
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Dr. T.C.A. Anant, former Chief Statistician of India, is appointed as Technical Consultant to the National Task Force for the purpose of comprehensive and scientific analysis of the survey data.
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The Ministry of Education, Union of India, shall pass a formal order of appointment at the earliest.
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The Ministry shall extend all necessary administrative support, including infrastructure and data access, and shall provide appropriate remuneration/honorarium to Dr. Anant in accordance with prevalent norms.
[Amit Kumar v. Union of India, Interlocutory Application No. 25652 of 2026 in Criminal Appeal No. 1425 of 2025, Decided on 06-02-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Ms. Aparna Bhat, the Amicus Curiae
Mr. K.M. Nataraj, Additional Solicitor General, Counsel for the Union of India