A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Karnataka High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission Act, 1995. The petition, filed by senior advocate and former MLA K.N. Subbareddy along with others, contends that the state government is exceeding its jurisdiction by conducting a socio-economic survey. The petition names the Chairman of the State Backward Classes Commission, the Principal Secretary to the State Government, the Secretary of the State Backward Classes Department, the Union Home Ministry, and the Census Commissioner of India as respondents.
According to the petitioners, the 102nd Constitutional Amendment of 2018 inserted Article 342(A), granting the Central Government exclusive authority to conduct surveys on the social, economic, and educational conditions of backward classes listed in the Central List. They argue that only a commission appointed by the President under Article 340 is empowered to examine the status of backward classes.
The plea further states that the state government’s notification of August 13, 2025, allowing a socio-economic survey, is unconstitutional, unscientific, and financially burdensome. It claims the amended Section 9(1) of the Act improperly extends survey powers to include forward communities such as Brahmins, thereby enabling enumeration of all castes in the state. This, the petition warns, could lead to political misuse by influencing government schemes and attracting voter support. Petitioners also allege that objections raised by several communities were ignored, and that the survey risks dividing society by artificially creating new caste and sub-caste categories. The matter is pending hearing before the High Court.