In a significant development, an appeal has been lodged in the Supreme Court challenging the Patna High Court’s verdict that upheld the Bihar Caste Survey conducted by the state government. The High Court had previously deemed the state’s decision to carry out the caste survey as perfectly valid, initiated with due competence, and aimed at providing development with justice.
The Patna High Court, in its August 1 judgment, stated,
“The caste status sought to be collated is not intended at taxing, branding, labeling or ostracizing individuals or groups; but it is to identify the economic, educational and other social aspects of different communities/classes/groups, which require further action by the State for its upliftment.”
The bench, comprising Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy, added that the survey does not contemplate any coercion to divulge details and that the action passes the test of proportionality. Therefore, it ruled that the proposed move does not violate the individual’s right to privacy since it is in furtherance of a compelling public interest and a legitimate State interest.
The caste survey in Bihar was planned to be carried out in two phases. The first phase, a household counting exercise, was conducted by the state government in January of the current year. The second phase, which began on April 15, focused on gathering data related to people’s caste and socio-economic conditions. The entire process was scheduled to be completed by May.
However, on May 4, a single-judge bench of the High Court stayed the caste census. The bench passed the order on three petitions, stating that the survey was actually a census, which can only be carried out by the Central government. The Court had said at the time;
“We find that the caste-based survey is a census in the garb of a survey; the power to carry out which is exclusively on the Union Parliament which has also enacted a Census Act, 1948,”
Following this, the Bihar government moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order of stay. However, the top court refused to lift the interim stay and asked the state government to approach the High Court. The matter was finally heard by a Division Bench of the High Court, which proceeded to dismiss the challenge on August 1.
This ongoing legal battle over the Bihar Caste Survey underscores the complexities involved in caste-based data collection and its implications on privacy rights and state interests.