The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought a direction for the Centre to conduct a caste-based census for the welfare of marginalized and backward sections of society.
Court Declines to Intervene
A bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, with Justice SVN Bhatti, stated that the issues raised in the PIL fall under the domain of policy and governance. The bench remarked, “We are not issuing a notice here. Whether it is to be conducted now or after six months is essentially a matter of governance.”
The bench further added, “We will dismiss this petition. The issues raised are in the domain of policy. If you want to withdraw, withdraw it. Otherwise, we will pass a dismissal order.”
The petitioner’s counsel eventually chose to withdraw the PIL. The counsel had initially indicated that an identical matter would be heard on September 9 before the Supreme Court.
PIL’s Demands and Concerns
The PIL had requested an expeditious enumeration of data for the 2024 census and the implementation of a Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) to facilitate welfare measures. The petition argued that an SECC would help identify disadvantaged groups, ensure fair resource distribution, and monitor targeted policies. Accurate data on backward and marginalized sections is deemed crucial for achieving social justice and constitutional objectives, according to the plea.
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The petition highlighted that the SECC conducted in 2011 aimed to collect comprehensive socio-economic data, including caste information. However, concerns over data quality and classification issues have prevented the release and effective use of the raw caste data. An Expert Group was formed to address these concerns, but its recommendations remain unreleased by the Union Government.
The plea also referred to Article 340 of the Constitution. The article mandates the appointment of a commission to investigate socially and educationally backward classes.
Further, the petition noted that the Census-2021 enumeration has not been conducted. Initially delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the process has been postponed repeatedly. The last census was conducted in 2011, creating a significant data gap, the PIL stated.
The PIL argued that the census is not just a tracker of population growth but also provides essential socio-economic data for policy-making, economic planning, and administrative purposes.