PATNA, Bihar: The caste census exercise launched by the Government of Bihar on January 7 has been challenged in the Supreme Court of India on grounds that the census does not come under the list of state subjects as per the Constitution of India.
The petition, filed by Akhilesh Kumar of Nalanda, will be heard by a bench led by the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on January 20.
The petitioner has been asking the apex court to quash the decision of the Bihar cabinet that was notified in June 2022. The petitioner argued that conducting a census comes under the duties of the Government of India as it is part of the Union List of the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. He also highlighted that caste-based census is not permitted by the Census Act, 1948. The caste-based census will be done in two phases. The first phase will be completed between January 7 and January 21, and the second phase will be completed between April 1 to April 30.