FIR against government officials for not doing census
Two separate FIRs have been registered under Section 11 of the Census Act, 1948 at the Gurugram police station, police said. The file image is for representation only. | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Gurugram police in Haryana have registered a first information report (FIR) against 10 government employees, including school teachers, for allegedly not doing work related to the census.
On 17 May, the enumeration officer of the Gurugram Municipal Corporation filed a complaint with the Police Station City, Gurugram, regarding 10 employees who were not performing their assigned duties related to the census.
Based on the complaint, two separate FIRs under Section 11 of the Census Act, 1948 were registered at the Gurugram police station, police said. The offense is punishable by a fine and a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
In the complaint, the census official said that government employees assigned the duty of enumerators defied government orders by not collecting data and not making a single entry in the Designated House List (HLO) mobile application despite repeated warnings to start work.
“Despite repeated instructions and instructions, the staff – Sandeep, Hansraj, Kuldeep, Rajesh Kumar and Amit Kumar – failed to take the census. Their non-compliance has caused hurdles in the census process and is considered a willful violation of government regulations. A police team is currently investigating the matter and strict action will be taken against the staff as per the defaulters to report for the census without valid reasons,” Gurugram police said in a statement.
Census 2027 is being conducted using digital tools for the first time, retaining the traditional door-to-door census process to ensure comprehensive and accurate coverage, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Sunday. During field visits, enumerators collect data digitally through a special mobile application on their personal phones. Information regarding housing conditions, household details, available amenities and household assets is collected through a structured questionnaire containing 33 reported questions.
The population census is conducted in two phases — HLO and population census. The HLO phase, which began on April 1, is set to end by September 30 across the country.
This is the first digital census and the first to allow self-counting. More than 1.44 lakh households have completed self-enumeration through the official portal (se.census.gov.in) in 25 states and Union Territories.
On Sunday (May 17, 2026), door-to-door enumeration for the HLO phase began in five states and union territories, namely Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) area of Delhi. Field visits for HLO are currently underway in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
Self Enumeration (SE) began on Sunday in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry and will be available till May 31. The enumeration itself is also underway in Uttar Pradesh and will continue till May 21, after which HLO field operations will be conducted from May 22 to June 20.
The HLO phase has been completed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha and Sikkim along with NDMC area and Delhi Cantonment Board area in National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Published – 18 May 2026 22:50 IST