The Supreme Court of India refused to entertain a PIL challenging the procedure for recording caste details in the 2027 Census. However, the Court asked the Centre and census authorities to consider the petitioner’s suggestions on transparency and verification.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that questioned the procedure to be followed for recording, classifying and verifying caste data of citizens in the upcoming 2027 national census.
While the Court declined to interfere in the matter, it asked the Central Government and the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to consider the suggestions made by the PIL petitioner.
The PIL was filed by Aakash Goel, an academician, who raised concerns about the lack of clarity and transparency in the method proposed for collecting caste details during the census. He was represented by senior advocate Mukta Gupta before the Court.
During the hearing, Goel submitted that a clear and transparent questionnaire should be prepared and placed in the public domain for recording caste information. According to him, such disclosure is necessary to ensure accuracy and public confidence in the data collection process.
The senior advocate further alleged that the Directorate of Census Operations has not revealed the criteria being used to record caste identity,
“notwithstanding the acknowledgement that caste enumeration has extended beyond the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes this time”.
Responding to the concerns raised, the Bench clarified that there is no fixed or pre-decided data framework for identifying caste information. The Court observed that “no pre-determined data” exists for caste identification at this stage.
The Bench noted that the entire census process is governed by the Census Act, 1958 and the Census Rules of 1990. It explained that
“The census exercise is regulated under the Census Act, 1958 and the 1990 Rules framed thereunder which empowers the respondent authorities to determine the particular and manners of census operations”.
The Chief Justice of India further stated that the Court had confidence in the authorities handling the census process.
The Bench observed,
“We have no reason to doubt that respondent authority with aid and assistance of domain experts must have evolved a robust mechanism in order to rule out any mistake as apprehended by the petitioner and several like-minded persons. We find the petitioner has raised some relevant issues through representation to the Registrar General of Census operations …as well”.
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Taking note of the submissions made and the representations already submitted by the petitioner, the Court stated that the concerned authorities may examine the suggestions raised in the legal notice as well as in the petition. With these observations, the Bench disposed of the PIL without issuing any further directions.
The 2027 Census, which will be the 16th national census of India, is expected to be historic. It will be the first census since 1931 to include comprehensive caste enumeration and will also mark India’s first fully digital census exercise.
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