File photo: Madras High Court, Chennai
Photo: Yoga Balaji
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Licence: CC BY 3.0
Judgment Intelligence
OtherThavamanidevi & Anr. v. The Principle Secretary to Prime Minister, Government of India & Ors.
2026:MHC:3620
WP(MD) Nos. 14200 of 2020 and 26376 of 2022
- Court
- Madras High Court
- Date of Decision
- 27 August 2026
- Bench
- Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel (Madurai Bench)
- Relevant Acts & Sections
- Constitution of India — Article 226; Notification No. 12/7/2020-SS dated 15.09.2020 (caste enumeration in Census)
Final Outcome
Both writ petitions disposed of without relief; the notification of 15.09.2020 not set aside; no costs; connected miscellaneous petitions closed (para 4).
Source Madras High Court, decided 27.08.2026
Key holdings
- Including the OBC category or any other caste in the Census is a policy decision (para 3).
- A person giving Census data may choose not to state their caste; there can be no compulsion (para 3).
- The rules governing the Census now underway alone prevail (para 3).
- The 15.09.2020 notification was expressly not set aside (para 4).
Judgment digest by NyayVidhan: a summary of the court's judgment, not its text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.
Brief Facts
One petition, filed in 2020, sought a direction to consider a representation to include the OBC category in the House Listing Operation and Population Enumeration before the 2021 Census (para 1). The other, filed in 2022, challenged the notification of 15.09.2020 and sought the same inclusion (para 2). By that notification the Union of India had decided, as a matter of policy, to stop caste-wise enumeration other than of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (para 3).
Court's Findings
The Bench said that whether the OBC category or any other caste is included in the Census is a policy decision (para 3). It is also a matter left to the individuals who give data for the Census: they may choose not to state their caste, and "There cannot be any compulsion in this regard" (para 3). The new Census procedure had already started, and the rules governing the Census now underway alone would prevail (para 3). The Bench made clear that it is not for the courts to indicate the nature of the policy the Government should adopt (para 4).
Legal Principle
Whether to enumerate the OBC category or any other caste in the Census is a policy decision for the Government, and a person may decline to state their caste. Courts will not indicate what policy the Government should adopt (paras 3-4).