NEW DELHI: The Union authorities has withdrawn its affidavit filed earlier on Monday earlier than the Supreme Courtroom which had mentioned that no person besides it’s entitled to conduct a census or any train akin to a census. “It’s submitted that the Central authorities has filed an affidavit within the morning at this time…….(the place), inadvertently, para 5 has crept in. The mentioned affidavit, due to this fact, stands withdrawn,” mentioned a contemporary affidavit filed earlier than the highest court docket.
A brief affidavit had been filed by the Workplace of the Registrar Common within the Union Dwelling Ministry in response to the batch of pleas difficult the caste-based survey in Bihar, putting the constitutional and authorized place for consideration of the highest court docket.
The reply doc maintained that the topic of census is roofed within the Union Listing underneath Entry 69 within the Seventh Schedule of the Structure and the Census Act, 1948 “empowers solely the Central Authorities to conduct the census”.
The paragraph saying that “no different physique underneath the Structure or in any other case (besides Centre) is entitled to conduct the train of both Census or any motion akin to census”, has been retracted from the brand new affidavit filed by the Centre.
It reiterated that the Central Authorities is dedicated to take all affirmative actions for upliftment of SCs/STs/SEBCs and OBCs in accordance with the provisions of the Structure and different relevant legal guidelines.
On August 21, the Supreme Courtroom allowed the Union authorities a interval of 1 week to file its reply after Solicitor Common Tushar Mehta, showing for the Centre, mentioned that he needed to put on file the constitutional and authorized place.
The Nitish Kumar-led state authorities has mentioned that the caste-based survey in Bihar is full and will likely be out in public quickly. The clutch of particular depart petitions in Supreme Courtroom challenges the Patna Excessive Courtroom’s order dismissing pleas difficult the caste-based survey in Bihar and couldn’t be listed on Monday however had been scheduled to be heard on August 28 by the highest court docket.
The petitioners earlier than the apex court docket argued that the survey course of violated the privateness legislation and solely the Union authorities had the authority to conduct Census in India and the state authorities had no authority to resolve and notify the conduct of caste-based survey in Bihar. The highest court docket had repeatedly refused to go any interim order staying the survey course of or publication of study of knowledge.
In its order handed on August 1, the Patna Excessive Courtroom, whereas dismissing the batch of pleas, had given inexperienced sign to the Nitish Kumar-led state authorities’s determination to conduct the survey. The Bihar authorities resumed the method on the identical day following the excessive court docket verdict directing completion of the rest of the survey course of inside three days.
Earlier, the excessive court docket had ordered an interim keep on the survey which had began on January 7 this yr and was scheduled to be accomplished by Could 15. “We discover the motion of the state to be completely legitimate, initiated with due competence, with the legit purpose of offering ‘Improvement with Justice’,” the excessive court docket had mentioned later whereas dismissing the batch of pleas.
