The Supreme Court refused to hear a PIL filed regarding the process to be followed to record, classify and verify caste-related data of citizens in the 2027 general census. However, the court has asked the Central Government and the Directorate of Census Operations to consider the suggestions given in the petition.
On Monday (February 2, 2026), this petition came up before the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalaya Bagchi. Petitioner Ashok Goyal has demanded that in the census to be held in 2027, caste census should not be done on the basis of self-declaration but on the basis of verifiable mechanism. The Supreme Court has directed the Center and the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner to consider these suggestions.
According to PTI report, senior advocate Mukta Gupta appeared in the court to present the side of Ashok Goyal. Mukta Gupta said that a transparent questionnaire used to record, classify and verify the caste details of citizens should be made publicly available.
The bench told the petitioner that there is no pre-determined data to identify caste related data. The Supreme Court said, ‘The process of census is governed by the Census Act, 1958 and the rules of 1990 made thereunder which empower the respondent authorities to decide the details and modalities of conducting the census.’
CJI Surya Kant said, ‘We have no reason to doubt that in view of the apprehensions expressed by the petitioner and many others with similar views, the respondent authorities would have developed a robust system with the help and cooperation of experts in the field to avoid any kind of mistake. We feel that the petitioner has also raised some relevant issues through the representation given to the Registrar General…’
The bench said that the authorities can consider the legal notice and the suggestions raised in the petition and with this the court disposed of the PIL. The 2027 census is officially the 16th national census. This will be the country’s first completely digital census to include comprehensive caste enumeration for the first time since 1931.
