Multiple petitions challenging the Bihar caste-based survey were filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, claiming that the survey was an attempt by the Nitish Kumar government to “usurp” the Centre’s powers.
The petitions have appealed against a Patna High Court decision on August 1, upholding the legality of the State’s June 6, 2022 order notifying the survey.
One of the petitioners, Akhilesh Kumar, said that the State lacked the competence to issue the survey notification.
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“The notification is against the constitutional mandate of distribution of powers between the State and the Union Legislature enshrined under Article 246 of the Constitution,” the petition said. It added that the survey also violated Schedule VII of the Constitution; the Census Act, 1948; and the Census Rules, 1990.
‘No State authority on census’
The petitions highlighted that the census was enumerated at Entry 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. “Therefore, only the Union has the authority to conduct census in India and the State government had no authority to decide and notify the conduct of caste-based survey in Bihar. The notification is null and void,” they contended.
The pleas said that the notification was ultra vires, or beyond the powers of Sections 3, 4, and 4A of the Census Act, 1948, as well as Rules 3, 4 and 6A of the Census Rules, 1990.
“A bare perusal of Section 3 makes it evident that only the central government is authorised to publish notification for conduct of census… Rule 6A of the Census Rules, 1990 provides that only the Centre can publish the notification in the official gazette to declare the date of commencement of census… Sections 4 and 4A of the Census Act and Rules 3 and 4 of the Census Rules make it clear that the Centre has to appoint a Census Commissioner,” the petitions said.
The Bihar government had said that it would conduct the survey using its own funds. The notification was published pursuant to a State Cabinet decision on June 2, 2022.
There is no independent power on behalf of the State Government to appoint District Magistrates and local authorities to supervise and aid taking of census, without there being a notification under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 by the Central government in this regard, the petition argued.
