CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition requesting to conduct caste-wise census in 2021. “When the endeavour is to move towards a casteless society, such petitions cannot be entertained,” a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam said.
The plea was filed by advocate R Anandha Babu, treasurer of Chennai Vanniyakula Kshatriya Maha Sangam. He claimed that caste-wise census was needed as more than half of the Indian population belong to backward and most backward communities. But, the preference of reservation they receive is like the difference between ‘mountain and pond’.
It is required, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where ‘Vanniyakula Kshatriya is the single largest community, mostly concentrated in 18 districts of the State. This has to be done in order to get preference in employment in government, judiciary, education, and administration on a pro rata basis, the petitioner said, adding that the then British government had conducted caste-wise census only for such proper administration.
However, the bench said, “It is well settled law that a mandamus cannot be granted for mere asking or on sympathy. It is obligatory on part of the petitioner to point out any infraction or noncompliance of any rules or statute.” This apart, the State government has also appointed a Commission headed by a retired judge of the court to collect caste wise data in the State to facilitate the government to take policy decisions.
Therefore, the court cannot issue any positive direction to the authorities concerned and hence the petition is dismissed, the bench said. Recently, retired high court Judge A Kulasekaran was asked to lead the Commission announced by the Chief Minister to conduct a survey for collecting caste-wise data.