Big win for CM Nitish Kumar: Caste-based census to continue

The Patna High Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas challenging the decision of the Bihar Government to conduct a caste-based survey in the state. The Nitish government has received significant relief in this matter. The work on caste enumeration will now resume. On May 4, the High Court, while hearing petitions filed against the caste enumeration, had temporarily halted the process. However, the Nitish government has now received the green signal from the court. The High Court has justified the Nitish government’s decision to conduct the caste enumeration.
The Patna High Court heard the petition filed against the caste enumeration for five consecutive days last month. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict on July 7. Everyone had been anxiously waiting for the court’s decision for many days. On Tuesday, the HC issued a nearly 100-page order. The main point is that the court has rejected all applications that sought a stay, arguing that the work of the census is solely for the centre, not the state.
Last year, the Nitish government issued a notification to conduct caste enumeration in Bihar. After this, work commenced in January 2023. The caste enumeration was conducted in two phases. The first phase started in January, and the second began in April. During the second phase, the Patna High Court temporarily stayed the caste enumeration, causing the work in Bihar to stop. Furthermore, on the court’s orders, the data collected until that point was preserved.
The Nitish government has long supported conducting a caste census. The Nitish government passed the proposal for a caste census on February 18, 2019, and again on February 27, 2020, in the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. However, the central government has opposed it. The Center clarified by filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court that a caste census will not be conducted. The Center stated that counting the OBC castes is a long and arduous task. The Bihar government decided to conduct a caste census last year. The work began in January 2023 and was slated to be completed by May.