Bihar Caste Census: The Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar has faced a major setback as the Patna High Court has issued an immediate ban on the caste census.
Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran's bench delivered the ruling, and the next hearing, in this case, will be on July 3.
Despite the Central government's opposition to the idea of conducting a caste census, Nitish Kumar's government has been advocating for it for quite some time.
The proposal was passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council on February 18, 2019, and February 27, 2020, respectively.
However, the Centre maintained that counting OBC castes is a lengthy and challenging process.
The Bihar government initiated the caste census last year, which began in January 2023 and was expected to be completed by May. However, the High Court has put a stay on it until July 3.
The Patna High Court received six petitions opposing the government's decision on conducting the caste census.
These petitions demanded a ban on the census. On Wednesday i.e., May 03, after concluding the hearing, a bench comprising of Chief Justice Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad reserved their decision.
The Bihar government has argued in favour of conducting a caste census, stating that since 1951, data has been published only for SC and ST castes, while no data is available for OBC and other castes. This makes it difficult to estimate the exact population of OBCs.
In 1990, the VP Singh government at the Center implemented the recommendation of the Second Backward Classes Commission, known as the Mandal Commission.
The Commission estimated the OBC population in the country at 52% based on the 1931 census.
Currently, 27% of reservation is given to OBCs based only on the recommendation of the Mandal Commission.
Experts believe that the reservation given to SC and ST is based on their population, but there is no basis for reservation for OBCs.
The central government has opposed the idea of conducting a caste census. In February of last year, when a question was raised in the Lok Sabha regarding the caste census, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, responded by stating that as per the Constitution, only the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can have a census.
Another reason why the central government is against the caste census is the fear of a situation similar to that of 1990, which led to the establishment of the Mandal Commission.
It is feared that conducting a caste census could lead to demands for the formation of a similar commission. Moreover, the system of reservation may also face reshuffling.
