Another PIL Moved In Supreme Court Challenging Caste-Based Census In Bihar As Being 'Against National Integration'

6 Days after the Supreme Court decided to hear a plea challenging the caste-based census in Bihar on January 20, another plea in the nature of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved before it challenging the Nitish Kumar-led government decision to conduct a caste-based census in the state.

The PIL plea has been moved by the National President of the Hindu Sena, Vishnu Gupta through Advocate Mudit Kaul contending that only the Central Govt is empowered to conduct a census in India or in any state and the state government's decision is against national integration.

The PIL plea argues that as per the broad scheme of the Census Act 1948, only the central government has the power to make rules, appoint Census Staff, requisition premises for taking censuses, payment of compensation, power to obtain information, a delegation of functions of the Central Government with regard to requisitioning, etc. 

Further, referring to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, the PIL plea states that 'Census' falls under the Union List at serial number 69 and thus, it is only the Parliament that can make laws on the subject of the census and it is only the Union Government that has the executive power to notify census of any kind subject to provisions of the constitution.

Therefore, the PIL plea submits that the executive decision of the State government of Bihar to issue a notification dated 06.06.2022 to conduct a caste-based census is absolutely unconstitutional and beyond its purview.

"the State Government by mere executive order cannot conduct caste-based census in the absence of legislation/statute on the subject, the Notification for caste census in the State of Bihar lacks statutory flavor and violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India on account being unreasonable and illegal...the impugned Notification is also discriminatory and unconstitutional on account of the fact that the State Government is only competent to legislate laws on the subjects which are enumerated in the State List or the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India," the PIL plea states.

Significantly, the PIL plea states that the State government's notification is illegal and unconstitutional and the same is an attempt to strike at the unity and integrity of the country and to create social disharmony among the people on caste lines for petty vote bank politics.

Against this backdrop, the plea prays the Supreme Court to quash the state government's notification to conduct Caste based Census in the State.

It may be noted that the Bihar government launched the caste survey on January 7 this year. The plan is to compile data on each family digitally through a mobile application in the survey from the panchayat to the district level.

On January 11, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to list a plea challenging the caste-based census in Bihar on January 20 after the matter was mentioned before him for urgent posting.