SC Declines Plea for OBC Caste Drop-Down Menu
Court says caste enumeration format is a policy matter; petitioner can approach the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a petition seeking a pre-loaded drop-down menu of Other Backward Classes (OBC) castes in the digital enumeration tools for Census 2027, instead of requiring individuals to enter their caste manually.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana observed that the issue involved a policy decision.
"We dispose of this petition while granting liberty to the petitioner to approach the Registrar General and Census Commissioner to whom a copy of this petition may be sent as representation," the bench said.
Counsel appearing for the petitioner, OBC Federation of India, submitted that a drop-down menu listing OBC castes should be incorporated into the digital census platform.
The Registrar General of India has decided to use an open-ended question on caste rather than a pre-loaded drop-down menu during caste enumeration, which will be conducted alongside the population enumeration phase of Census 2027.
