HC rejects govt plea for early hearing in caste survey case

Patna: The Patna high court on Tuesday rejected the state government’s plea seeking an early and final hearing of five PILs filed against conducting caste-based survey in Bihar.The division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad on May 4 put an interim stay on the survey, which was conducted by the state government in Bihar. The court has fixed July 3 for the next hearing. The high court in its May 4 order had held that “prima facie” the state is conducting caste census in Bihar “under the garb of survey”. It further observed that census is in exclusive legislative domain of central government and state has not been granted any power by the Constitution to conduct such survey. The high court also held that the manner of caste survey raised “question of infringement of people’s fundamental right to privacy and hence such survey violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution”. On Tuesday, advocate general P K Shahi submitted that the high court, in its interim order on May 4, has virtually decided the main legal points pertaining to the constitutionality of such caste-based survey as well as question of fundamental right to privacy, hence nothing is left substantial in these matters. Shahi requested the court to fix a date for final hearing of the matter on or before May 15, but the same was rejected by the court.