September 26, 2025

In a fresh twist, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday gave a partial nod to the state's ongoing socio-economic and education survey. But here's the masala — the court clearly said the survey must be 100% voluntary! No forcing, no cajoling citizens to share their personal details. The division bench, headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi, made sure to sprinkle some strong conditions on the State Permanent Backward Classes Commission. First, the court wants the Commission to guard the survey data like a precious secret. There's a strict order that this information cannot be shared with anyone after the survey finishes. Privacy, privacy, privacy! To keep things crystal clear, the court has asked the Commission to issue a public notification saying: "Participation in the survey is voluntary, and no one has to give any information if they don't want to." Enumerators, those who go door-to-door, must tell citizens this upfront before inviting them to participate. If someone says no, that’s the final answer—no follow-up, no pressure, no sweet talk, strictly no! Why all this fuss? Well, many people had challenged the survey in court, saying it’s really a caste census in disguise—the domain of the central government—and complained that enumerators demanded Aadhaar details, invading privacy. The Congress-led Karnataka government took up this fresh survey after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) received waves of complaints from political and religious leaders of dominant communities. They claimed the last survey’s data was full of flaws. AICC leadership is pushing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to shape this survey like the SEEEPC survey done in Telangana, which mixes socio-economic, education, employment, political, and caste info. This way, the government hopes to get spot-on data while respecting people’s rights. In short, the court’s order is a new ray of hope for citizens worried about privacy and pressure — the survey can go ahead, but only if it stays fair, free, and respects every individual’s choice.

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Tags: Karnataka high court, Socio-economic survey, Backward classes, Voluntary survey, Data privacy, Siddaramaiah,