Pleas Challenging Bihar Govt's Decision To Conduct Caste-Based Survey In State: High Court To Deliver Judgment Tomorrow

After hearing a total of 5 PIL pleas challenging various aspects of the survey, a bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy had reserved the verdict on July 7.

It may be noted that the survey was rolled out in two phases. The first phase, which began on January 7, was a household counting exercise and it was completed by January 21.

The second phase started on April 15, wherein the information on people’s caste and their socio-economic conditions was collected. The entire exercise was scheduled to end by May 2023.

However, hearing the PIL pleas against the Bihar Government's ambitious decision, the Patna High Court, on May 4, put an interim stay on it while observing that it prima facie amounts to a census that the State Government has no power to carry out.

"Prima facie, we are of the opinion that the State has no power to carry out a caste-based survey, in the manner in which it is fashioned now, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative power of the Union Parliament", the High Court said.

"The State has no power to carry out a caste-based survey, in the manner in which it is fashioned now, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative power of the Union Parliament," the Patna High Court had further observed.

Significantly, the Chief Justice-led division bench has also called it a matter of 'grave concern' that the Government intends to share Census data with the leaders of different parties of the State Assembly, the ruling party and the opposition party.

"In such circumstances, 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 in the writ petition," the Court ordered.

Before the Court, the Bihar Government has submitted that it is competent to conduct a caste-based survey collecting data on the caste, jati and socio-economic well-being of the people of the state.

The Government has also submitted that the people are not being forced to declare their caste and that participation in the entire exercise is purely voluntary and this fact makes it different from a caste-based census wherein declaration of caste is mandatory.

A categorical submission has also been made that in the survey in question, not a single person has alleged that information is being forcibly taken from them in the name of the survey.

In addition to oral arguments, the government has also filed an affidavit in response to the writ pleas challenging the caste-based survey, wherein it has been stated thus:

"It is undeniable that this survey is not a census. There may be some similarities but there are glaring differences. These two processes are not congruent. Differences and similarities are less important but the most important legal question is whether the Bihar Caste Based Survey is putting any threat to or obstruction upcoming Census 2021 or not. The answer is a big NO. There is also no infringement of the jurisdiction of the Union of India conferred by The Census Act 1948, as to date, State Government has not received any objection from the Union of India."

On the other hand, Advocate Dinu Kumar, appearing on behalf of one of the petitioners, submitted before the Court that the state government is conducting a census in the name of a survey, which is not allowed as per the constitution. He argued that a total of five hundred crore rupees are being spent on the survey, without any justification.

On July 21, the Supreme Court disposed of as infructuous a plea against a May 4 order of the Patna High Court issuing an interim stay on the survey, in view of a division bench of the high court finally hearing the matter and reserving its verdict.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing the plea by the Bihar government against the high court’s interim order. The temporary stay had been ordered by a division bench of the Patna High Court while it determined if the state government was competent to conduct the survey.

On July 21, the top court disposed of the petition after the counsel appearing for both sides agreed that the matter had become infructuous since the high court had already reserved its verdict.

Case title - Youth For Equality vs State of Bihar along with connected matters