Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Aug 10: The central government told the state high court that in its view, states are not empowered to conduct caste censuses. This has given rise to uncertainty among the government departments, which are preparing to release the results of the caste survey conducted by the state on August 20.

Shivaraj Kanashetti from Kalaburagi had challenged the educational, financial, and social survey conducted by the state in the high court. The centre told the high court bench comprising Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice Ravi Malimath that the states do not have the right to conduct such surveys.

The bench has now asked the state government and also the state backward classes commission which had conducted the survey, to file objections.

Former chairman of Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, C H Dwarakanath, is of the opinion that the state had conducted social and educational survey and not census. He said that there is provision to conduct caste survey once every ten years for reservation purpose.