SC junks PIL seeking caste exclusion from Census

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the exclusion of caste enumeration from the population census.

Refusing to intervene, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi said that the subject matter falls within the policy domain of the government.

The petitioner, Sudhakar Gummula, argued that the collection of caste data could be susceptible to misuse, particularly if such information were to fall into the hands of corporate entities and politicians.


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The petitioner further contended that there was no justification for collecting caste-related data.

Turning down the contention, the CJI verbally remarked, "These are all policy matters, whether the census should be caste-based or not. What is wrong with it? Any government must know how many people belong to backward classes and what kind of welfare measures are to be taken for them. It is within the policy domain."

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The bench dismissed the plea. "This is a policy matter. No reason to intervene. Dismissed," the order read.