Bihar Govt Moves Supreme Court Challenging Patna HC's Interim Stay On Caste-Based Survey

Patna HC rejected the Bihar government’s plea seeking early hearing of its interim stay on caste census and said the hearing will take place on July 3, the date that was fixed earlier.

Supreme Court of India

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New Delhi: Bihar government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Patna High Court order putting an interim stay on the caste-based census in the state, news agency ANI reported. The Patna High Court on Tuesday had rejected the Bihar government’s petition, seeking early hearing of its interim stay on caste census in the state. The court said the hearing will take place on July 3, the date that was fixed earlier, and the stay will remain in effect till then.

The Bihar Government had moved the Patna High Court seeking an early hearing on the petitions and said that no purpose would be served in keeping the matter pending.

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“That though the order dated May 4 is seemingly an interim order however it has finally adjudicated the issues under consideration. Hence, the writ petitions have in effect and substance been finally decided. Practically, no issue remains to be adjudicated. Hence it would be in the ends of justice that writ petitions are disposed of as no meaningful purpose would be finally in served in keeping the writ petitions pending,” the Interim Application of the Bihar government read.

It is to be noted that in its May 4 order, the Patna High Court had termed the caste-based survey as virtually a census by another name, and "prima facie unconstitutional" as it "impinges on the legislative powers of Parliament". "The state government has no right to conduct such a caste census in Bihar,” the court had said.

The High Court bench had held that the Bihar government's "intention to share data of a caste survey with various political parties in the state assembly raises a larger question of the infringement of the fundamental right to privacy of the people in general".