The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (September 24, 2025) held a detailed hearing on the petitions challenging the validity of the social and academic survey, also known as ‘ethnic calculations’. A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi did not provide any interim relief and the next hearing in the case will be held on Thursday.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the state, argued that petitions are not targeting any constitutional provision or any specific article of Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission Act, 1995, but in fact they are trying to stop exercising the rights of the government.
He said that the petitioners have made general allegations like the survey being unscientific, which can be investigated only after the results are made public. Abhishek Manu Singhvi also cited the Puttaswamy verdict of the Supreme Court, saying that governments have the right to collect data for welfare schemes.
The bench made it clear that the petitioners are not disputing the right to survey the government, but are questioning the manner of implementation and have raised objections to the sudden increase in the number of castes and the perceived political objective in the number of castes. When the court raised the issue of ‘overlap’ with the caste census of the central government, Abhishek Manu Singhvi defended that the states do not need to wait for the Center process, as it may take years to complete.
Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath, who appeared on behalf of the central government, argued that the constitutional structure only recognizes the central census as the official source of demographic data. Kamath described Karnataka’s effort as ‘a census hidden as a survey’ and argued that a legitimate survey should be a special issue, not like the current calculation, as it is interfering in the jurisdiction of the calculation center.
The commission’s lawyer defended the updated cast list and said that during the last survey, many communities had complained about being kept out of the list. He said that the houses were geo-tagging, while the Aadhaar was used only to stop the verification and repetition of the heads of the family.
The bench, however, questioned the legal basis of installing a geo-tag sticker and also asked if the residents could be punished for removing them. The bench also sought clarification about whether the surveyors were asked to tell the families to tell that participation in it is voluntary.
Petitioners, including Vokkaligara Union, Akhil Karnataka Brahmin Mahasabha and Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha, argued that the state can make welfare schemes for backward classes, but they do not have the right to conduct caste-based surveys. He alleged that this process, which was done in a hurry with a period of only seven days to register an objection, is ‘inspired by politics’. The state government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has described the calculation as important for preparing welfare programs. About 420 crore rupees have been fixed for this process.