Karnataka High Court Refuses to Stay Socio-Economic Survey
Court warns against pressure on citizens during caste-linked survey
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to stay the ongoing socio-economic and educational survey and said that it must be “voluntary” and any data gathered from the people must be kept confidential. The High Court ordered that there should not be any attempt to coax persons who were unwilling to participate in the survey.
A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi clarified that the data gathered must remain confidential and cannot be shared with anyone. The bench ordered that participants be expressly told that their involvement was voluntary.
The court added that this clarification must be given at the outset of the survey process. Enumerators, it said, cannot pressure or persuade individuals who refuse to participate. The Commission has also been asked to file an affidavit within one working day outlining the steps taken to safeguard data collected and stored.
Some petitioners had challenged the survey on the grounds that the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes was conducting a “caste census in disguise” which was seeking people’s private details.” Among the petitioners were Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha, individuals from Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities and Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha.
The advocate representing the state government brought to the notice of the High Court that there were safeguards in place to ensure the private data gathered by enumerators during the survey was safeguarded.
The survey aims to cover seven crore people across 2 crore households from September 22 to October 7. The government has stated that several technological measures have been employed to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. Each household will be geo-tagged using the electricity meter number and assigned a Unique Household ID.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to hold a video conference with deputy commissioners and chief executive officers of zilla panchayats on Saturday to sort out problems and inconveniences faced by enumerators as well as respondents.
