'Domain of governance': SC refuses to entertain plea for caste census

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the Centre for conducting a socio-economic caste census for the welfare of backward and other marginalised sections, saying the issue falls in the domain of governance.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti allowed the petitioner P Prasad Naidu to withdraw his plea in which he had sought a direction for expediting the enumeration of data for census.

"What can be done about this? The issue is in the domain of governance. It is a policy matter," the bench told senior advocate Ravishankar Jandyala and advocate Sravan Kumar Karanam, appearing for the petitioner.

Jandyala submitted that several countries have done it but India is yet to do.

"The Indra Sawhney judgement of 1992 (Mandal Commission verdict) has said that this census has to be done periodically," he contended.

The bench told him it was dismissing the petition as the court could not interfere in the issue.

Sensing the mood of the court