NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rescued the Centre from the prospect of carrying out a caste-based census — an exercise that could have led to a controversial reworking of quotas for other backward classes (OBCs).
The HC had two years ago in a service matter ordered fresh caste-based census, more than 80 years after it was last conducted in 1931. The SC set aside that order, terming it “exceptionally cryptic” and a “colossal transgression of power of judicial review”.
Given the potential for social strife in a caste-based census, the Centre had rushed to the SC challenging the HC order. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra, R F Nariman and U U Lalit upheld its contention and said the central census notification mandated collection of information only relating to SCs and STs and not other castes.
Appearing for the Centre, senior advocate R S Suri had argued that “policy stipulates for carrying out the census which includes SC and ST, but not other castes”. He had said other HCs had dismissed similar petitions and that even the SC had declined to interfere in census modalities. As of now, the census quantifies the population of only SC and ST communities.
Justice Misra, writing the judgment for the bench, said, “In such a situation, it is extremely difficult to visualize that the high court, without having a ‘lis’ (subject matter) before it, could even have thought of issuing a command to the census department to take all such measures towards conducting caste-wise census in the country so that social justice in its true sense…could be achieved,”
This was clearly beyond the HC’s jurisdiction, the SC ruled. “The HC had not only travelled beyond the list in the first round of litigation, but had really yielded to some kind of emotional perspective, possibly paving the adventurous path to innovate. It is legally impermissible,” it said.
It added it was not within the courts’ domain to adjudicate whether a particular policy was suitable or there existed a better policy alternative. The court could interfere if the policy framed was absolutely capricious or violated the right to equality and non-discrimination guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution, it said.
“In certain matters, as often said, there can be opinions and opinions but the court is not expected to sit as an appellate authority on an opinion,” the court said.
In its 2012 order, the HC had said, “When it is the position that after 1931, there has never been any caste-wise enumeration or tabulation and when there cannot be any dispute that there is increase in the population of SC/ST/OBC manifold after 1931, the percentage of reservation fixed on the basis of population in the year 1931 has to be proportionately increased by conducting caste-wise census by the government in the interest of the weaker sections of society.”
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