The Patna High Court denied an early hearing to the Bihar government’s plea on the caste-based census, which has been put on hold. The court ruled that the hearing will take place on July 3, as previously scheduled, and the stay on the census will continue until then.
Last Thursday, the Patna High Court ordered an interim stay on the caste-based census while hearing a petition that challenged the enumeration of castes and economic survey in Bihar. On Wednesday, the high court completed the hearing and reserved its judgment for a day.
During the hearing, Chief Justice KV Chandran’s division bench heard the petitions filed by Akhilesh Kumar and others. The court had earlier accepted the interlocutory application filed by the Bihar government, setting May 9 as the date for the hearing.
Advocates Dinu Kumar, Ritu Raj, and Abhinav Srivastava, representing the petitioners, argued that the state government’s right to conduct surveys is beyond its jurisdiction. Dinu Kumar informed the court that the Bihar government is conducting caste and economic surveys.
Advocate General PK Shahi, representing the state, argued that the survey is being conducted to make plans for public welfare and to improve the social level. Shahi stated that after the proposal was passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, the decision to conduct a caste census was taken. This is a policy decision of the state government, and budget provisions have been made for it. The census will help the government formulate policies for the welfare of the poor.
The petitioners contend that the Bihar government does not have the right to count castes, and doing so violates the Constitution. They further argue that in the caste-based census, people’s occupations and qualifications are also being recorded, which is a violation of their privacy rights. The petition states that the state government does not have the constitutional authority to conduct a caste census, and spending 500 crore rupees on this census is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
The stay on the caste-based census will continue until the high court delivers its judgment on July 3. The Bihar government had requested an early hearing, but the court refused, citing the previously set date for the hearing.