SC tells Bihar govt to put caste survey breakup in public domain

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Bihar government to put the breakup of the caste survey data in the public domain to aid those who want to challenge inferences and policies started by the state government on the basis of the findings.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it is concerned about the breakdown of data in the Bihar caste survey not being made available to the public, because if somebody is willing to challenge a particular inference, then he should be able to have that data.
Justice Khanna said, “What I am more worried about is the availability of breakup of data. To what extent can the government withhold the data? You see, the entire breakup of data should be in the public domain so that anyone can challenge the inference drawn from it. Unless it is in the public domain, they can’t challenge it.”
The apex court posted for hearing on January 29 the pleas challenging the Patna High Court order of August 2, 2023, which upheld the Bihar government’s decision to undertake the caste-based survey.
It also refused to grant any interim relief to the petitioners who have challenged the caste survey and the Patna High Court order.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, appearing for the petitioners led by NGO ‘Ek Soch Ek Prayas’, said the Bihar government had already gone ahead and increased reservation from 50 per cent to 75 per cent in the state.
Since the survey data is out, the authorities have started implementing it in the interim and raised the reservation for SCs, STs, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to a total of 75 per cent from the existing 50 per cent, he added.
Earlier, the top court had issued notice to the Bihar government on a batch of pleas challenging the August 1, 2023, order of the Patna High Court that gave the go-ahead for the caste survey in Bihar.
On October 2, 2023, the Nitish Kumar government released the findings of the caste survey, revealing that the OBCs and EBCs constituted a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s population. (ANI)