The Supreme Court has categorically declined to issue an order against Bihar’s caste census data or to prevent the government from acting on the said data. However, the Court noted its intention to investigate whether the state government possesses the authority to conduct a caste-based census.
The division bench clarified that it cannot meddle in the policy decisions of the state government, or any government for that matter. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, an atmosphere of celebration permeates the Nitish government.
Notably, prior to this hearing, the Bihar government had unveiled the caste survey data on 2nd October. The Supreme Court has now directed the Bihar government to provide a response within four weeks. The subsequent hearing on this issue is scheduled for January 2024.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti, presided over the case. The counsel representing the petitioners against the Bihar Caste Census contended that the data was disseminated without awaiting the Supreme Court’s position. They further alleged that this data had been procured illegally and lacks a legitimate purpose.
In response to the petitioners’ claims, the Supreme Court emphatically declined to prohibit the caste census, stating, “We are not banning anything right now. We cannot impede the policy decisions of the state government or any government. However, we intend to delve into this subsequent issue: whether the state government is authorised to conduct a caste census.”
Justice Sanjeev Khanna highlighted to the petitioners that the verdict from the Patna High Court was comprehensive in explaining the necessity of the data for policy formulation. Since the data has been made public, the court also turned down the request to maintain the status quo based on the petitioner’s demand.
It was also pointed out by the petitioners that the Bihar government released the data concurrently with the court hearing. In response to this, Justice Sanjeev Khanna queried the Bihar government about their rationale for the publication.
Senior advocate Shyam Diwan, representing the Bihar government, clarified that the court had not yet determined whether to issue a notice in the matter. He further contended that this implies the court hadn’t set any prohibitions on the data’s publication.