Patna High Court Lifts Stay, Allows Bihar Govt To Continue With Caste Survey

Caste-Based Survey: The Patna High Court on May 4 put an interim stay on the caste survey when the second phase was being conducted in Bihar.

The Patna High Court on Tuesday lifted its stay on the caste survey that was being conducted by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government. The High Court had ordered an interim stay on May 4.

A HC bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy delivered the verdict on various petitions challenging the caste-based survey.

"The (Patna) High Court has dismissed all petitions (against caste census). We will challenge the verdict in Supreme Court," advocate Dinu Kumar, representing the petitioners, told PTI.

The first round of caste survey, which was a household counting exercise, was conducted between January 7 and 21. The second round started on April 15 and was supposed to continue till May 15.

In the second phase, information on people's caste and their socio-economic conditions was collected. 

However, the Patna High Court on May 4 put an interim stay on the survey while observing that it prima facie amounted to a census that the state government had no power to conduct.

READ | Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Patna HC Order Halting Caste Census In Bihar

"Prima facie, we are of the opinion that the State has no power to carry out a caste-based survey, in the manner in which it is fashioned now, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative power of the Union Parliament," the High Court had said, Bar and Bench had reported.

After the Patna HC verdict, the Bihar government moved the Supreme Court against the order staying the caste-based survey. The top court, however, refused to lift the stay.

HC Has Put Its Stamp Of Decision Of Mahagathbandhan Govt: Tejashwi

Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav called the Patna HC decision "historic". "The High Court has put its stamp on the decision of the Mahagathbandhan Govt. Our fight is to bring the backbenchers of society to the mainstream. When a caste-based survey happens, there will be clarity and Govt will form schemes on that basis and take the facilities to them. BJP wanted to stop the caste-based survey," ANI quoted Yadav as saying.

The Nitish Kumar government has said the collection of caste-based data was a constitutional mandate under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution.

The Bihar government also submitted that the people were not being forced to declare their caste and the participation in the entire exercise was purely voluntary.