The Supreme Court questioned the Bihar government on why it published its caste survey data but did not stop it from releasing further data. The court will examine if the state has the power to conduct such a survey. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti issued a formal notice on pleas challenging the Patna High Court’s order that allowed the caste survey. The matter will be listed in January 2024. The petitioners requested a complete stay on further publication of data, but the court rejected their plea. The court stated that it cannot stop the state government from making policy decisions but will examine whether the state has the authority to conduct the survey.
The counsel for the Bihar government was questioned by the top court on why they published the data. The court will also examine if the state has the power to conduct such a survey. The petitioners argued that there is a breach of privacy and that the High Court’s order is incorrect. They claimed that the data was collected illegally and does not comply with the law on right to privacy. However, the court stated that since individual identities have not been published, there may not be a breach of privacy. The court emphasized that the main issue is the breakdown of the data and its availability to the public, which has not been released by the state government.
