Patna high court adjourns hearing on caste survey

The high court had taken up the writ petition challenging the decision of the state government to conduct the caste survey, pursuant to the order passed by the Supreme Court on April 28

The Patna high court on Monday posted the Bihar caste-based survey case for hearing on Tuesday after it found that the counter affidavit filed by the state government was not on record.

The second round of the month-long caste-based survey in Bihar began on April 15 and will continue till May 15. (HT file photo)

The division bench of chief justice K Vinod Chandran and justice Madhuresh Prasad of the Patna high court agreed to the request of the advocate general PK Shahi to adjourn the hearing, and directed the state that the counter-affidavit, in the form of hard copy, be brought on record during the day.

An interlocutory application was filed on behalf of the petitioner, Youth for Equality, last Saturday, and the state government had filed its reply through a counter-affidavit, in the form of soft copy, on Monday itself.

The high court had taken up the writ petition challenging the decision of the state government to conduct the caste survey, pursuant to the order passed by the Supreme Court on April 28.

A division bench of the apex court, comprising Justice MR Shah and Justice JB Pardiwala, had granted the petitioner liberty to file an application seeking interim relief or stay against the ongoing exercise of caste survey undertaken by the state government, and asked the Patna HC to consider, decide and dispose of the interim application at the earliest, preferably within three days of filing of the application and mentioning of the same before the chief justice of the high court.

It also clarified that it had not expressed its opinion on the merits of the case and the same was to be decided by the high court.

The high court on Monday agreed to the request of the counsel’s petitioner, Abhinav Shrivastava, to hear the case separately at this stage, as it was the Youth for Equality alone that had moved the Supreme Court through a special leave petition.

A number of cases challenging the decision of the state government to conduct the caste survey have been filed and other counsel had also requested for listing of such matters on Tuesday.

The HC had earlier clubbed a bunch of PILs, along with the petition of Akhilesh Kumar, who earlier moved the Supreme Court directly, and listed the matter for hearing on May 4.

Md Sohail, secretary of the general administration department, which is the nodal department for the caste-based survey, was present in the court on Monday.

The second round of the month-long caste-based survey in Bihar, involving over 3.04 lakh enumerators, who will ask an estimated 127 million respondents in 29 million households 17 questions, including those on education and socio-economic parameters, besides caste, among the 214 listed, began on April 15 and will continue till May 15.

The first round of the survey, to mark the households and list the name of heads of families and count the number of family members, was held between January 7 and 21.