Supreme Court Disposes PIL on Census 2026 Caste Data, Says No Reason to Doubt Govt Mechanism
Supreme Court declined to interfere with the caste data methodology for the 2027 Census while asking authorities to consider the petitioner’s suggestions
Supreme Court noted the petitioner’s concern that there was “no pre-determined data” disclosed to identify caste data, but declined to issue any directions interfering with the census process
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a public interest litigation challenging the procedure proposed to be adopted for recording, classifying and verifying caste data in the upcoming 2027 Census, even as it asked the Centre and the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to consider the suggestions made by the petitioner.
The PIL was filed by academician Aakash Goel, who sought directions to the Union government to place in the public domain a transparent questionnaire explaining how caste details of citizens would be recorded, classified and verified during the census exercise.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta argued that the Directorate of Census Operations had failed to disclose the criteria for recording caste identity, “notwithstanding the acknowledgement that caste enumeration has extended beyond Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes this time.”
The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted the petitioner’s concern that there was “no pre-determined data” disclosed to identify caste data, but declined to issue any directions interfering with the census process.
“The census exercise is regulated under the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990 framed thereunder, which empower the respondent authorities to determine the particulars and the manner of census operations,” the Bench observed.
The court said it had no reason to doubt that the respondent authorities, with the aid and assistance of domain experts, had evolved a robust mechanism to rule out errors as apprehended by the petitioner and other like-minded persons.
“We find that the petitioner has raised some relevant issues through representations addressed to the Registrar General of Census Operations and the Director General as well,” the Chief Justice noted.
In view of this, the bench disposed of the PIL, requesting the competent authorities to consider the suggestions raised in the legal notice and the petition, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the census methodology.
The 2027 Census, officially the 16th national census, is significant as it will be India’s first fully digital census and the first comprehensive caste enumeration exercise since 1931.
In a related news, the petitioner, Aakash Goel, had previously, in 2025, filed a PIL seeking the creation of an integrated digital platform that would allow citizens to access information about all their financial holdings, whether operational, inactive, or unclaimed, across entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The apex court in October had issued notice in the case. The Court had sought responses from the Union of India, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, the National Savings Institute, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
Notably, in 2023, the petitioner had moved the Delhi High Court seeking proper implementation of the Ladli Scheme launched in 2008 to enhance the social status of girls by ensuring their education and economic security. A division bench Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the counsel for the Delhi government to seek instructions on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which claimed that funds to the tune of Rs. 364 crore under the scheme are lying unclaimed with authorities. In his plea, the petitioner, Aakash Goel had stated that as per RTI replies, more than Rs 364 crore belonging to 1,82,894 Ladli Scheme beneficiaries aged above 21 are lying with the State Bank of India. The plea had sought a writ of mandamus for proper implementation of the Delhi Ladli Scheme 2008 and disbursement of the funds to the tune of Rs. 364 crores lying unclaimed with the Delhi government.
Hearing Date: February 2, 2026