Supreme Court allows petitioner seeking pre-loaded drop-down caste menu in Census to approach Registrar General

Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan. File | Photo Credit: ANI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) gave the OBC Federation of India liberty to approach the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGCCI) with their petition for a pre-loaded drop-down menu of recognised Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the digital tools for Census 2027.

Caste is enumerated in the second phase of the Census. Appearing before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, the counsel appearing for the federation said the second stage of Census 2027 was about to commence.

The federation argued that Article 342A of the Constitution recognises and mandates for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs).