Patna, August 1, 2023 

The Patna High Court today dismissed multiple Public Interest Litigation (PIL) pleas challenging the Bihar Government's decision to conduct a caste-based survey in the State. The court's ruling clears the way for the continuation of the survey, which was temporarily halted earlier this year.

A division bench consisting of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy reserved the verdict on July 7 after hearing a total of 5 PIL pleas, each challenging different aspects of the survey.

The caste-based survey was initiated in two phases. The first phase, a household counting exercise, took place from January 7 to January 21. The second phase began on April 15 and involved collecting information on people's caste and socio-economic conditions. The survey was scheduled to conclude by May 2023.

However, on May 4, the Patna High Court issued an interim stay on the survey, stating that it appeared to be a census-like exercise, and the State Government lacked the authority to carry out such an activity.

The court expressed concern over the State Government's intention to share the survey data with leaders of various political parties in the State Assembly, both ruling and opposition. To safeguard the collected data, the court ordered an immediate halt to the caste-based survey until final orders were passed in the writ petition.

The Bihar Government had asserted that the survey was within its competence and argued that participation in the survey was voluntary, differentiating it from a mandatory caste-based census.

In response to the government's submission, Advocate Dinu Kumar, representing one of the petitioners, contended that the survey amounted to a census, which is not permissible under the constitution. He questioned the expenditure of five hundred crore rupees on the survey without adequate justification.

On July 21, the Supreme Court disposed of a plea against the interim stay issued by the Patna High Court, as the division bench of the high court had already reserved its verdict. Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra heard the plea filed by the Bihar Government challenging the interim stay.

The recent dismissal of the PIL pleas by the Patna High Court paves the way for the continuation of the caste-based survey in Bihar. However, the court's final verdict is yet to be delivered, and further developments may unfold as the legal proceedings progress.

Case Title: Youth For Equality vs. State of Bihar along with connected matters