Will You Inform Public That Disclosure Isn't Mandatory? Karnataka High Court To State Commission On Social & Educational Survey Of Citizens

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (September 24) orally asked the State Backward Classes Commission if it has instructed its enumerators, who are to conduct the social and educational survey, to inform the citizens at the outset that the survey is not mandatory and they are free not to answer the questions.  

The court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging a state government order approving conduct of a survey of the social and educational status of citizens under the supervision of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission.

During the hearing a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi orally asked the counsel for the Commission:

"Where is it in the handbook that at the outset every person who goes to the houses says that they (people) have no obligation to answer and there is no requirement to give your Aadhaar...Enumerator must tell them that we are doing this survey and if you don't want to give we will go away. On the contrary your instructions are visit them again and again and if they (people) still don't give it to you for any reason please tell your supervisor who will obviously do something else". 

The court also asked the Commission that on what basis or material was the classification regarding the number of castes made. 

To this the counsel said, "We have not invented any caste. We have collected all the available disclosures made in the survey conducted in the past...This is not for public consumption. We go and ask a respondent, what is your caste, they disclose the caste. We don't suggest anybody to give a caste name". 

Regarding the lists that were made the counsel said, "The list was made based on earlier disclosures made during earlier survey. Caste were disclosed during previous survey. Those are enumerated here for purpose of our guidance. We have also taken requests made by certain groups saying earlier we were left out and so we have added them...Whatever they disclose we just enumerate it". 

On the preparations made on the conduct of survey the counsel said that for the purpose of house listing the government permitted the Commission to use services of electricity metre readers. 

He said, "Every house carries an electricity metre. The metre readers...go and stick our ID which geo tags a particular house. Over 2 crore houses have been geo-tagged...On the door of the house a sticker is affixed with a Unique House Identification number. The QR code therein gives the location of the house so that enumerator can directly go to the house without any problem".

He submitted that survey ID is to be filled up after survey and Aadhaar number will be taken for purposes of identification.

At this stage the court asked, "Aadhaar validation is there...if no, then why did you take it? Why do you take Aadhaar number?". The counsel submitted that the Aadhaar was only being utilised to find out the identity of the household where survey is conducted, so that there is no duplication and to prevent infiltration from other States coming for enumerating. 

The court then asked, "Your sticker is put on somebody's house door telling him not to remove it. Which authority backs you from putting stickers on doors and saying that you can't remove it. Which statutory law allows you to enforce it...your sticker says do not remove. If a person does not want his house geo-tagged, does not want to show how many people are living in his house...then where is the question of him not removing your sticker".

The counsel said that the person may not participate and may remove the sticker.

To this the court orally remarked, "This (sticker) is not a request. Will you tell each one of the persons who is now collecting data that before entering data to tell them (citizens) 'you have no obligation to answer at all?...That you will start by informing each one that 'We have just come to your household to collect these questions; You don't want to answer please don't answer'. We are asking you where in your instruction manual do you inform that the person who goes to the house has to inform them (citizens) that this is not a mandatory exercise, 'you are free to disclose your Aadhaar card or any information and if you don't want it we will go away'?". 

The counsel further said that the same was made clear in several columns in the form; pointing to it he said, "Serial no. 1-7 organized religions..Serial No. 9 people who say they don't know...Serial No. 10 refuse to disclose".

To this the court orally said that it does not say that disclosure is optional.

Giving an example the court said that if someone among the public says I' know my religion but I don't want to be subjected to this survey' then what happens. To this the counsel said that the person can refuse to give information. 

He further said that all enumerators have been duly instructed to take the answers as they come and not pose any leading questions. 

Meanwhile during the hearing another counsel said that the Commission and the State Government can issue a clarification or a public notice that it is a voluntary disclosure. 

To this court remarked, "A person...may have apprehensions. Number of cyber crimes that are being reported…you have some metre reader who will go and ask them (citizens) for their Aadhaar. Person may not want to. But the fact that he is under a feeling that there is a compulsion under which he has to do it is effectively...right to privacy is lost immediately". 

The counsel however said that once Aadhaar card number is fed into the system, thereafter even the system cannot retrieve the Aadhaar card number.

After hearing the matter for some time the court listed it on Thursday.