Patna High court halt caste based census in BiharThe ongoing caste-based census in Bihar was immediately halted by the Patna High Court on Thursday, a blow to the Nitish Kumar administration.
The court ruled that the state government lacked the authority to conduct the survey since it would “infringe on the legislative powers” of Parliament.Days before the census was supposed to be finished by May 15, the interim order was issued.
The Mahagathbandhan administration has placed a lot of political weight on the caste census, and the majority of the opposition parties are exerting pressure on the BJP-led Modi administration to conduct the same exercise nationwide.
The Bihar government’s action was viewed as an infringement on Parliament’s rights by the High Court judgement, which also claimed that the exercise was effectively “a Census” and highlighted concerns about data security and privacy.
On July 3, a hearing will be held over the writ petition, which was submitted by Youth for Equality, a third-gender activist, and others.
While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not react to the court verdict immediately, Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav told reporters: “Let us first understand the order and its legal nitty gritty.
We will sit together with the CM and discuss our next course of action”.JD(U) MLC and former minister Neeraj Kumar said: “It is only an interim order.