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Synopsis

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that central government is committed to take all affirmative actions for upliftment of SCs/STs/SEBCs and OBCs in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the applicable law. 

The Union government's response came in a batch of petitions challenging the Patna High Court's order which upheld the Bihar government's decision to conduct a contentious caste census in the State.

A batch of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the judgement of the Patna High Court which had on August 1 approved the Bihar government's decision of June 6, 2022 to conduct a caste census in the state.

The HC had said the exercise was perfectly valid, and (is) initiated with due competence, with the legitimate aim of providing ‘development with justice’; as proclaimed in the address to both Houses.

However, the Census Act, 1948, empowers the central government to conduct the census under section 3 of the said Act, it said.

"Census is a statutory process and is governed by the Census Act, 1948. It is submitted that the subject of Census is covered in the Union List under Entry 69 in the Seventh Schedule," it said.

On August 21, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, had told the Supreme Court that the caste survey initiated by the Bihar government would have ramifications requiring it to file an affidavit.

On August 7, the Supreme Court had refused to grant status quo on the Patna High Court's order.

'Ek Soch Ek Prayas', an NGO, had approached the top court against the High Court's recent decision upholding the Bihar government's caste-based survey.

In April this year, a division bench of the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea challenging the caste-based survey. However, a bench of Justices MR Shah and JB Pardiwala had allowed the petitioners to move an application for early hearing on interim relief before the High Court.

The plea challenged the caste-based survey on the ground that it was not a survey for a sample population, but a census, involving house-to-house enumeration of all people, which only the Centre could undertake.

Later, the Patna High Court had stayed the controversial survey by issuing an order stating, ".. we direct the State Government to immediately stop the caste-based survey and ensure that the data already collected are secured and not shared with anybody till final orders are passed...," .

The High Court also criticised the government's lackadaisical attitude in ensuring data security. It observed that the declaration made by the head of the family is not absolute and even if a video conferencing service is available, there is no way to authenticate the person available on the other side.

Additionally, it also refuted any argument regarding not calling it a caste-based exercise since there are seventeen columns under which people have to provide their information. “The intention was solely to identify the caste, which is more than evident from the terminology with which the survey has been called, i.e.: ‘a caste-based survey’,” observed the Court.

The High Court also took note of the fact that reliance placed by Indira Sawhney Judgement is not tenable in this case. It observed that power to grant reservation does not translate to a caste-based census by the state government.

The first round of caste survey in Bihar was conducted between January 7 and 21.

 

Case Title: Ek Soch Ek Paryas vs. Union of India