The Madras High Court on Wednesday, October 4, refused to issue a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to conduct a caste-wise census. The court disposed of a public interest litigation petition which sought this direction, with liberty to the litigant, to pursue a representation made by him in this regard, to the government.
Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy closed the PIL petition filed by M. Muniasamy, a former Additional Government Pleader in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and president of the Tamil Nadu Legal Safety Movement, after observing that no such direction could be issued.
In his affidavit, the petitioner had claimed to have made a representation to the State government on February 10, 2023 to conduct a caste-wise census in order to find out the exact percentage of populations belonging to different caste groups so that the measures aimed towards social justice could reach deserving people.
