Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging State Govt Order For Survey On Social, Educational Status Of Citizens

The Karnataka High Court on Friday (September 19) issued notice to the State Government on a batch of petitions questioning a government order granting approval to conduct a survey of the social and educational status of state's citizens under supervision of Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission.

A division bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Rajesh Rai K issued notice to the respondents and directed the matters be listed for hearing on September 22 (Monday) for consideration of interim relief which seeks a stay on the exercise. 

The senior counsels appearing for the petitioners argued that there is an impending urgency.

It was submitted, "till Monday let them (State) not start it. Let them hold their hands till the bench hears the matter".

The counsel for the Commission informed the court that the survey has already started.

The bench however did not go into the merits of the matters and posted it for hearing on Monday. 

The petitioners have questioned the Government order dated 13-08-2025, by which the survey is to be carried out and it mandates Aadhaar-based digital data collection and proposes use of voter lists, electricity meter data be done by school teachers, and other government personnel acting as enumerators.

The subsequent orders dated 22.08.2025 and instructions issued in the Commission's Handbook, electricity meter readers, GPS mapping, and household codes linked with ESCOM data were prescribed for the survey. The Handbook also contains caste/sub-caste code.

The petitioners have argued that the order directing survey is arbitrary, ultra-vires and unscientific, and the entire process is a burden on the state treasury and a waste of public money.

It is also stated that earlier the Kanthraj Commission Report of 2015, is presently under challenge in a 2015 writ petition (W.P. No.9258/2015); it was abandoned as unscientific, yet the present exercise repeats similar flaws.

The petitions have prayed for a direction to quash the government order directing conduct of the survey. It seeks to declare the methodology prescribed in the handbook as unconstitutional, arbitrary, and violative of Articles 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

By way of interim relief the petitioners have sought to stay the operation of the government notification.