Bihar Caste Survey: After claiming it could only conduct the exercise, the Centre withdrew an affidavit it had submitted to the Supreme Court regarding the caste survey carried out by the Bihar government, alleging “inadvertent error.” In the past, the Centre filed an application with the Supreme Court protesting the Bihar government’s plan to carry out a caste-based survey in the state. The Centre has already withdrawn the earlier affidavit and presented a new one to the court.
Shifting Centre’s Stance on Census Authority
In the earlier affidavit, the Centre stated before the Supreme Court that “no other body (except the Centre) under the Constitution or otherwise is entitled to conduct the exercise of either census or any action akin to the census”. The Centre informed the Supreme Court in a new document submitted late in the day that the aforementioned clause had “inadvertently crept in” and that the Centre want to withdraw it. However, according to the Centre’s new affidavit, “the census is a statutory process and is governed by the Census Act, 1948.” It stated that entry 69 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution’s Union List covers the subject of the census. The Census Act of 1948 was created, the Centre claimed in the updated affidavit, “in the exercise of the authorities under the aforementioned article. “The said Act empowers only the central government to conduct the census under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948,” it further stated.
Challenges to Patna High Court’s Caste Census Verdict
Along with the revision of its position, the Patna High Court‘s ruling dismissing a number of cases contesting the legality of the Bihar caste Survey is being challenged in a number of petitions. The Bihar government’s proposal was deemed by the high court to be fully legitimate and competent legally, and it was said that this cleared the way for the exercise to begin after being halted for about three months. The caste-based census was decided upon by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government in 2022.
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