Patna (Bihar): The Supreme Court on Monday will hear a plea challenging the Patna High Court's verdict upholding the validity of the caste survey. A division bench comprising of Justice SVN Bhatti and Justice Sanjeev Khanna will hear the case on these petitions. Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the decision of the Patna High Court, saying that a decision would be taken only after hearing all the parties.
In the earlier hearing, Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the petitioner and said he wanted a pause in the ongoing caste survey. Replying to which, Justice Khanna said, "Let the survey continue for some time. If it has completed 80 per cent, let it reach 90 per cent." On August 1, the Patna High Court dismissed all petitions challenging the conduct of a caste survey in Bihar by the state government.
The plea was filed by an NGO 'Ek Soch Ek Paryas' and a Nalanda resident Akhilesh Kumar. The plea filed by Kumar contended that the notification issued by the state government for the exercise is against the constitutional mandate and only the Union government is empowered to conduct a census. Kumar in his plea said, "It is submitted that the Notification dated June 6, 2022, is against the Constitutional mandate of distribution of powers between the State and the Union legislature."
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has often insisted that the state is not conducting a caste census but only collecting information related to people's economic status and their caste so specific steps could be taken by the government to serve them better. (With PTI Inputs)
