BENGALURU: Stating that the social-educational survey undertaken by the Karnataka government was a census cloaked as a survey, the Union Government on Thursday contended before the Karnataka High Court that the country’s constitutional scheme envisages a single authoritative census by the Centre under the Census Act.
Additional Solicitor General of India Arvind Kamat made this submission before the division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi while hearing a batch of petitions filed by Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha, Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha and others questioning the legality of the survey.
The survey, being conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, began on September 22 will culminate on October 7.
Stating that the census provides secure and legitimate data processing, Kamat submitted that census questions are issued by gazette notification, whereas no such mandate exists for a state survey. A survey must be issue-specific, he said when the bench queried how to distinguish a legitimate survey from a census.
He also said that the Centre had already notified the commencement of the census, which also entails the enumeration of castes, and the exercise undertaken by the State Government to conduct a survey falls within the domain of the Union Government.
To an argument of the senior counsel representing the State Government that the petitioners have sought a stay for the very exercise of power to conduct a survey, instead of the provisions governing the said power, the court said that the challenge is basically to the manner in which the survey is being conducted. The petitioners had specifically highlighted an exponential increase in the number of castes in the state and also alleged that political motives were behind the exercise, the bench added.
The senior counsel, however, submitted that a survey cannot be stayed without showing any flaws in its design and even in the Puttaswamy’s case concerning Aadhaar, the government was permitted to collect data for welfare purpose.
The State Backward Classes Commission, through its senior counsel, contended that revision in the caste list was necessitated because of the receipt of complaints, which led to updating the list of castes. The Aadhaar was used only to verify the name of the householder, prevent duplication and also to exclude out-of-state residents, it said.
When the court pointed out that though the commission claims that the participation of citizens in the survey is voluntary, the handbook given to the surveyors doesn’t reflect the same. And also concerns were now being raised about the current exercise in view of the 2015 survey report not being made public and more particularly the lack of consultation, and only seven days were given for filing objections to the survey, the court added.
The commission’s counsel reiterated that the contemporaneous data is needed for framing and implementation of welfare schemes.
Further hearing was adjourned to Thursday.