New Delhi, 28 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a plea seeking the provision of a pre-filled drop-down menu for Other Backward Classes (OBC) castes in the digital data collection tool for the 2027 Census, observing that the matter falls within the domain of policy decisions.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said it was disposing of the petition while granting the petitioner the liberty to approach the Registrar General and Census Commissioner. The petitioner may also forward a copy of the plea to the authorities as a formal representation.

The petition sought the inclusion of a pre-filled drop-down menu listing OBC castes in the digital data collection system for the 2027 Census, arguing that this would eliminate the need for individuals to manually enter their caste names.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, the OBC Federation of India, its counsel submitted that a drop-down menu could be incorporated into the digital Census system to facilitate the collection of caste-related data.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar