Win-Win moment for Nitish Kumar as Patna HC upholds caste census

Patna high court on Tuesday quashed pleas challenging the decision of the Bihar government to conduct a caste-based survey in the state. The high court has paved the way for a caste-based survey in the state.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar justified the Bihar government’s caste-based survey as an effort to aid the underprivileged.

According to the sources, the first round of caste survey in Bihar was conducted between January 7 and 21. And the subsequent round started on April 15 and was supposed to continue until May 15. But, Patna high court on May 4 stayed the survey.

While putting a stay on the survey, the high court said, “We are of the considered opinion that the petitioners have made out a prima facie case against the continuation of the process of caste-based survey, as attempted by the State of Bihar. There is also the question raised of data integrity and security, which has to be more elaborately addressed by the state.”

As per sources, the petitions were filed by the social outfits that first approached the Supreme Court. The top court, however, refused to intervene and referred them to the high court.

Notably, the decision to conduct a caste census on June 2 last year by Bihar government. At that time, the chief minister Nitish Kumar had insisted that the goal of the exercise is to obtain a precise assessment of each community’s financial position to support developmental efforts.

The lawyer from the petitioner’s side, while talking to media outside the court following a hearing before a bench headed over by chief judge K Vinod Chandran, said he will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

“We do not know the details of the order which comes barely a few months after the court had stayed the survey. In the open court, the bench said it was rejecting all the petitions,” he said.

Here’s how BJP leader reacted

“BJP had supported the caste census. They (Bihar Government) had failed to explain the objective of caste census and further failed to put the report in the public domain,” says Bihar LoP Vijay Kumar Sinha on Patna High Court’s order.