"Publicity interest litigation": Supreme Court refuses to entertain PILs challenging Bihar caste census

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain three public interest litigation (PIL) petitions challenging the Bihar government decision to initiate a caste census in the State [Akhilesh Kumar vs State of Bihar and ors]..After a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath said that it won't entertain the plea, the petitioners proceeded to withdraw the same. The Court then granted liberty to the petitioners to approach the Patna High Court."This is a publicity interest litigation. If we allow this then how will they determine how much reservation to be given. You want to withdraw? Go and file before the High Court. Sorry we do not entertain such petitions", Justice Gavai remarked. .One of the petitions filed by one Akhilesh Kumar sought quashing of the June 2022 Bihar government notification for being violative of the right to equality before the law, as it, "accords differential treatment without intelligible differentia."That petition said that such a census is 'against the basic structure of the Constitution'.It was contended that the State could not have gone ahead with such a move in the absence of a legislation or a Constitutional provision enabling the same.Pertinently, the plea argued that since the Representation of People Act prohibits election to Parliament or State Assemblies on the basis of religion or caste, legislators of political parties are 'prohibited from raising caste-based issues'.The government is under a Constitutional obligation to eradicate caste conflicts and there is no provision in the Constitution regarding caste configurations, the petitioner pointed out.Further, a caste census needs Central legislation and States cannot go about the same on their own, the plea argued..The other petitions were filed by an organisation named Ek Soch Ek Prayas, and Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta. Counsel for the petitioners today submitted that a similar survey (the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census) was conducted earlier but not published.[Read order]