SC to hear plea against Bihar census on Jan 20

The Supreme Court will hear on January 20 a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking quashing of a notification issued by the Bihar government in June last year calling for a caste census in the state. The plea was mentioned before a division bench comprising CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha on Tuesday. The petitioner, Akhilesh Kumar, has challenged the Bihar government's notification calling it 'against the basic structure of the Constitution'. The petitioner has alleged that the government's action is illegal, arbitrary, irrational and unconstitutional.