Bihar Caste Survey: SC to Hear Pleas Challenging Patna HC Order on Oct 6

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it will hear pleas challenging the Patna High Court’s August 1 order to proceed with a caste survey in Bihar on October 6.

A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti informed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that it has listed the pleas for hearing. The bench made the remark after SG Mehta sought adjournment in a separate matter related to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd and requested it be listed for Friday.

On 2nd October, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released the results of a much-anticipated caste survey several months ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections. The survey revealed that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) make up a significant 63 percent of the state’s total population.

According to the data, Bihar’s total population was just over 13.07 crore, with EBCs constituting the largest social segment at 36 percent, followed by Other Backward Classes at 27.13 percent. The survey also indicated that Yadavs, an OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, had the largest population share at 14.27 percent of the total.

Dalits, also known as Scheduled Castes, accounted for 19.65 percent of the total population in the state, which also included nearly 22 lakh (1.68 percent) individuals belonging to Scheduled Tribes.