Supreme Court Refuses Plea for Pre-Loaded OBC Caste List in Census 2027

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a petition seeking a pre-loaded list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) castes in the digital tools for Census 2027, leaving the decision on caste enumeration procedures to the government.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the matter involved a policy decision and disposed of the petition filed by the OBC Federation of India.

OBC Federation Seeks Drop-Down Menu

The petitioner sought a drop-down menu listing OBC castes in the digital census system, arguing for a standardised selection process instead of requiring respondents to enter their caste manually.

The Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner have opted for an open-ended question on caste, allowing respondents to state their caste or sub-caste rather than choose from a predetermined list.

The caste enumeration will take place alongside the population enumeration phase of Census 2027.

Supreme Court Asks Petitioner to Approach Census Authorities

While declining to entertain the plea, the bench granted the petitioner liberty to approach the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

The court directed that a copy of the petition be forwarded to the authorities as a formal representation, giving the petitioner an alternative route to raise its concerns.