Patna High Court pauses Bihar's caste survey
The Patna High Court on Thursday passed an interim order staying the caste-based survey being conducted by the Bihar government. It also ordered the government to secure the collected data and not share it until the final orders. The survey lists 28 questions on topics ranging from caste, gender, religion, education, and financial status. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 3.
Why does this story matter?
Although caste discrimination is outlawed in the Constitution, it still governs a significant portion of India's social, economic, and political life, thus stunting India's growth. A caste census has the potential to uncover the comprehensive result of decades of affirmative action. The opposition has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of opposing the survey because it would reveal upper-caste hegemony in government institutions.
SC referred the petition to Patna HC
A division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad completed the hearing on Wednesday and reserved its order. The Supreme Court had referred the petition to the high court last month. The first round of the survey was conducted between January 7 and 21, while its second round began on April 15 and was scheduled to continue till May 15.
State has no power to conduct caste census: Bench
The bench said, "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, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative power of the Union Parliament." The court also noted the government's intention to share the survey's data with other party leaders in the state Assembly.
Centre declined proposal for countrywide caste survey
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the resolutions in favor of the survey were passed twice in both Houses of the state legislature. He said the representatives of all parties backed him in proposing a nationwide caste census to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the Centre junked the proposal and the Bihar government decided to undertake the exercise in the state.
