During the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court regarding the caste census in Bihar, the Central Government filed an affidavit on Monday and said that according to the Census Act-1948, only the Central Government has the right to conduct the census, not the State Government.
The Center said that under Section-3 of the Act, the Center has got this right under the law, in which by issuing a notification on behalf of the Central Government, it is declared that the census is being conducted in the country and its grounds are also clarified.
In the affidavit, the Center said that no other authority or body in the Constitution has the right to take any step of census.
In the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Supreme Court, it was also told that all necessary and appropriate steps should be taken by the government for the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Those who are according to the constitution and law.
According to the affidavit, census is a legislative process, which is under the Census Act 1948 and the central government has the right to conduct it under order 69 in the 7th schedule of the central schedule.
The Center recently petitioned the Supreme Court seeking permission to intervene in the apex court’s hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Patna High Court order that upheld the state’s decision Was.
This affidavit of the Center has come at a time when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said a few days ago that the work of caste-based survey has been completed in the state and now the data is being compiled. Used to be.
He said that this data will be made public soon. He said that the caste-based survey would be beneficial for all sections of the society.
Talking to reporters in Patna, Nitish Kumar said, ‘The caste-based survey in the state will enable the government to work for the development of various sections of the society, including the deprived. This will help us to know which areas need development. Let the detailed description of the data come, I am sure other states will also follow it’.
