SC Rejects PIL Challenging Caste Enumeration during Census
20 May 2026 3:04 PM IST20 May 2026 3:04 PM IST
The top court said the government must know the number of persons belonging to backward castes to frame welfare measures
Supreme Court (File Photo)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the Centre’s decision to conduct a caste-based Census, holding that the issue falls within the policy domain of the government. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, declined to accept the submissions of petitioner Sudhakar Gummula, who argued that sufficient caste data was already available with the government.
Dismissing the plea, the court observed, "These are all policy matters, whether the Census should be caste-based or not. What is wrong with it? … the government must know as to how many people are in the backward class, what kind of welfare measures are to be taken for them. It is within the policy domain."
The bench noted that caste enumeration could assist the government in framing welfare measures for backward classes.
The upcoming 2027 Census, the 16th national Census, is expected to include caste enumeration and be conducted in a fully digital format.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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