Indian
Express: Bengaluru: Saturday, 11 April 2015.
The High
Court on Friday gave a green signal to the Karnataka State Backward Classes
Commission to go ahead with its caste survey to be conducted from April 11 to
30.
Refusing to
stall the survey while hearing a PIL filed by Shivaraj Kanshetty and others,
the division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy
observed that the survey is different from a census, before adjourning the case
to July 7.
On Thursday,
the division bench asked the state government to explain its competence to
conduct the survey.
In a reply
given on Friday, Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar told the bench that the state
has powers to conduct the survey. Hence it has taken up a massive exercise to
complete the survey which was not done earlier despite several efforts in the
last few decades.
He also ruled
out the apprehension of the petitioners that the survey will lead to unrest in
the society, saying that the commission is taking up only a survey and not a
census. Moreover the survey is essential as the government has no data of the
different castes across the state. The government will have to refuse if anyone
sought a caste-wise population breakup under the RTI Act, if the survey is not
conducted, he said.
Before this,
the counsel representing the petitioners argued that the government has no
constitutional competence to conduct a caste census and only the Union
Government can do such an exercise. Hence conducting a census is a violation of
the provisions of the Constitution and a waste of money, the counsel said.
While
challenging the notification issued on January 23, 2014 for the caste survey,
the petitioners alleged that Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission is
giving way for caste clashes in the society by conducting a census and the same
could lead to law and order problems.
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