The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Bihar government on a plea challenging the caste-based survey in the state. Refused to stay any proceedings arising out of publication of caste census data. The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhati made it clear that it would not stay the issue. The court said that it cannot stop the state government or any government from taking decisions.
big questions from the government
However, the court said it would consider any issues regarding caste-based survey data. This issue will be examined in the context of the authority of the State Government to do such work. The court also asked the Bihar government why it disclosed the data. The court was hearing petitions challenging the Patna High Court’s decision to uphold the caste survey initiated by the Bihar government.
The figures were already published
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the Bihar government has already published the caste survey data, which is raising various concerns and challenges. The petitioners include organizations such as One Think One Effort and Youth for Equality, which have challenged the validity and authority of caste-based surveys. The central government also jumped into this legal battle.
file an affidavit
Filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court, it claimed that the Census Act of 1948 provides exclusive powers to the Central government to carry out census-related activities. The affidavit reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the upliftment of the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in accordance with the constitutional provisions and applicable laws.