The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation seeking exclusion of caste-based enumeration from the population census.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi observed that the issue falls within the policy domain of the government and does not warrant judicial interference.

During the hearing, the CJI remarked that it is for the government to decide whether the census should include caste-based data, adding that such information may be necessary to assess the population of backward classes.

“Whether census should be caste or not caste based is a policy decision. Government has to know how many people are backward class etc,” the Bench observed.

The Court subsequently dismissed the plea filed by Sudhakar Gummula, stating that there was no reason to interfere in the matter as it concerned government policy.

Case Title: Sudhakar Gummula vs Union of India.