The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear a plea seeking the inclusion of Denotified Nomadic Tribes (DNT) as a separate category in the upcoming national census. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant reportedly questioned the intent of the lawsuit.
According to news agency PTI, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi disposed of the petition, observing that such classifications fall within the domain of government policy and “must not be adjudicated”.
The court also allowed petitioner Dakxinkumar Bajrange to represent himself before the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
What is the lawsuit looking for?
The PIL sought a mandate for the Census Commissioner to ensure that members of the designated nomadic tribes are specifically identified during the census during the census.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for the petitioner, said the application is not for getting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status but rather for statistical visibility.
“Since the (Criminal Tribes) Act is no more… there has to be some way that they are not left behind and left out of the census,” Dave was quoted as saying by PTI.
‘Do more classes now’
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant questioned the intent of the lawsuit, saying, “We are a unique country. Instead of creating a classless society, we are here to create multiple classes now.”
He said that if an inquiry is made, the source of the PIL can be traced and it can be influenced by persons from abroad.
“These are very deliberate steps… not very innocuous things before us. This plea is a very deep-rooted step to divide the society. They are not from India and if we do an investigation, we will see where all this is coming from,” the CJI said.
“Counting is a matter for experts”
Justice Bagchi said the census was a matter for experts.
“This is a decision of expert politics. We have to see what classification they (the government) will make for you,” the judge was quoted as saying by PTI.
The court said the petitioner submitted a statement to the authorities only a month before approaching the court.
“In our considered opinion, classification or sub-classification during the enumeration process essentially falls within the domain of policy to be decided by the competent authority. It is not an actionable matter,” the court said.
While the bench declined to entertain the PIL, it got rid of it by giving freedom to the petitioners to address their grievances with the relevant government authorities.
