SC Refuses To Stay Patna HC Order Halting Caste Census In Bihar

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to lift the stay on the caste census that was being conducted by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the Patna High Court order which halted the caste survey being conducting by the Bihar government.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal said it would have to examine if the exercise being carried out is a census in garb of survey.

"We are making it clear, this is not a case where we can grant you interim relief," the bench said.

The apex court noted that the high court had posted the hearing of the main petition on July 3.

"We direct that this petition be listed on July 14. If for any reason, the hearing of the writ petition does not commence before the next date, we will hear further submission canvassed by the senior counsel for the petitioner (Bihar)," the bench said.

In an appeal filed before the top court against the May 4 order of the high court, the Bihar government had said the stay will adversely affect the entire exercise.

The state government said the collection of caste-based data is a constitutional mandate under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution.

The first round of caste survey in Bihar was conducted between January 7 and 21. The second round started on April 15 and was supposed to continue till May 15.

RJD president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday took a fresh jibe at the Narendra Modi government on the caste census issue, which the OBC stalwart and his ilk believe, could usher in a second Mandal wave. The ailing septuagenarian, who is in Delhi, took to Twitter to allege that the ruling dispensation was averse to a headcount of the OBCs whom it considered worse than even animals.

The former Bihar chief minister shared a Hindi newspaper report, which spoke about the rise in the number of crocodiles found in the river Gandak, which flows through the state.

The Union government counts even crocodiles, but refuses to do so for the numerically powerful (bahusankhyak) poor, deprived and downtrodden Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes,” Prasad, who has also served as a Union minister in the government headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said.

 

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