New Delhi: Patna High Court has put an interim stay on the Caste-based census in Bihar. The decision has come amid the Bihar government proposing a caste census in the state and the opposition standing against it. The case has brought back the age-old debate of caste-based recognition and reservation.
Bihar | Patna High Court puts a stay on Caste-based census. pic.twitter.com/mioWO0wPhA
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2023
The hearing for the case was completed in the High Court on Wednesday while the interim order was to be passed on Thursday. The next hearing for the case will take place on July 3 before the division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad.
Earlier, the Bihar government filed an affidavit before the Patna HC and informed that the government has already spent around Rs 115 crore for the caste survey and if it will be stalled in the last stage, the action will cause immense loss to the state exchequer.
Before the hearing passing of the interim order, CM Nitish Kumar ensured that the step is aimed to benefit the public. Taking a jibe at the BJP, which is in opposition in Bihar, Nitish said that the opposition and the government used to work together during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time. He reminded the media of the incident when he resigned from the post of Union Rail Minister after the rail accident in West Bengal and said that today no one resigns.
The Caste-based census was launched on January 7. In the first phase, the government noted the number of all households in the state and in the second phase, data pertaining to people of all castes and religions was being collected.
