Make break-up of caste survey data public: SC to Bihar

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Bihar government to make the break-up of the caste survey data public, allowing those aggrieved to challenge the findings.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta declined to grant interim relief to the petitioners challenging the caste survey and the Patna High Court’s order upholding the Bihar government’s decision. The bench emphasised the need for a comprehensive hearing to address the legal issues surrounding the high court’s judgment and the legality of the survey.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, representing the petitioners, highlighted that the survey data is being implemented, with increased reservation percentages for various categories. The bench suggested challenging the increased reservation before the high court, and Justice Khanna expressed concern about the public accessibility of the survey data break-up. The court insisted that the entire break-up should be in the public domain for effective challenges.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the Bihar government, assured that the data, including the break-up, is available on the designated website for public scrutiny. Justice Khanna stressed the importance of making the complete break-up public to facilitate challenges to the inferences drawn from the data.

The bench instructed Divan to file a report on the caste survey and scheduled further hearings for February 5. The court had previously questioned the Bihar government’s decision to publish the caste survey data and refused to restrain further data publication. The data, released on October 2, 2023, revealed the composition of OBCs and EBCs as 63% of the state’s population.

The BJP accused the Nitish Kumar government of irregularities and labelled the collected data as “fake.” The Supreme Court had earlier issued notices on pleas challenging the Patna High Court’s August 1, 2023, order approving the caste survey. The court rejected the petitioners’ request for a complete stay on further data publication and has been consistently stressing the need for a thorough examination of the legal aspects surrounding the caste survey.