Express News Service
PATNA: In a major relief to the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, the Patna High Court on Tuesday dismissed a batch of pleas challenging the caste-based survey in the state. A bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy upheld the state government’s action as “perfectly valid, initiated with due competence, with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice.”
The order came less than three months after the court had stayed the survey saying it was in fact a census that only the Centre can carry out. The petitioners said they will challenge it in the Supreme Court. The court held that the actual survey has “neither exercised nor contemplated any coercion” to divulge details and, hence, has not violated the rights of privacy.
The two-member bench also observed that the “vigorous challenge” raised against the caste survey on multiple grounds reveals that “despite attempts to efface it from the social fabric, caste remains a reality, and refuses to be swept aside, wished away or brushed aside nor does it wither away or disperse into thin air.”
The HC order triggered a verbal duel between the ruling grand alliance and the BJP. RJD chief Lalu Prasad hailed the order saying it would pave the way for the economic prosperity of the downtrodden, while deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said it will provide authentic data to take corrective steps to help the backwards. JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary said the HC ruling ‘exposed’ the BJP. For his part, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha said his party was never opposed to the survey.
PATNA: In a major relief to the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, the Patna High Court on Tuesday dismissed a batch of pleas challenging the caste-based survey in the state. A bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy upheld the state government’s action as “perfectly valid, initiated with due competence, with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice.”
The order came less than three months after the court had stayed the survey saying it was in fact a census that only the Centre can carry out. The petitioners said they will challenge it in the Supreme Court. The court held that the actual survey has “neither exercised nor contemplated any coercion” to divulge details and, hence, has not violated the rights of privacy.
The two-member bench also observed that the “vigorous challenge” raised against the caste survey on multiple grounds reveals that “despite attempts to efface it from the social fabric, caste remains a reality, and refuses to be swept aside, wished away or brushed aside nor does it wither away or disperse into thin air.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The HC order triggered a verbal duel between the ruling grand alliance and the BJP. RJD chief Lalu Prasad hailed the order saying it would pave the way for the economic prosperity of the downtrodden, while deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said it will provide authentic data to take corrective steps to help the backwards. JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary said the HC ruling ‘exposed’ the BJP. For his part, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha said his party was never opposed to the survey.
