Supreme Court gives Center a week’s time to respond to petitions against caste census in Bihar

New Delhi (IANS). The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Central government a week’s time to file its reply on the petitions challenging the caste-based survey in Bihar.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, “I am not on this side or the other. I want to place my arguments on record.”

The bench reiterated that it would not pass any interim directions restraining the Bihar government from publishing the results of the caste-based survey.

The bench told those petitioners, “Unless there is a prima facie case, we will not stay the survey.”

The hearing of the petitions was adjourned till August 28.

It is worth mentioning that the caste-based survey in Bihar has been completed and is expected to be published soon.

Earlier, the petitioners had argued that the survey process violates privacy laws and only the central government has the authority to conduct the census in the country. The state government has no authority to decide and notify the conduct of caste-based survey in Bihar.

The Supreme Court had said that the privacy of the individual would not be affected by the publication of the data as the data of individuals would not be revealed, rather a cumulative breakup or analysis of the entire data would be published.

The top court had repeatedly refused to pass any interim order to stay the survey process, though it argued that the August 1 deadline for the state government to complete the remaining part of the survey process within three days. The petitions will become infructuous after the notification is issued.

The Patna High Court, in its order passed on August 1, had cleared the Nitish Kumar-led state government’s decision to conduct the survey, while dismissing several petitions. After the decision of the High Court, the Bihar government resumed the process on the same day.

Earlier, the High Court had ordered an interim stay on the survey which began on January 7 this year and was scheduled to be completed by May 15.

The High Court subsequently dismissed the multiple petitions, saying, “We find the action of the State to be fully legal, which has been initiated with the proper competence with the legitimate objective of providing ‘development with justice’.”