# Supreme Court asks Centre to reveal Census 2027 caste verification SOP

2026-10-13T03:45:07+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

The Supreme Court on Monday, 12 October 2026, asked the Centre to spell out the standard operating procedure for verifying caste claims during the 2027 Census. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to file a note on the issue. The court did not issue notice on a plea by Delhi-based activist Aakash Goel, who said caste data is being collected only through a self-declaration form, with no mechanism to check fake certificates. Senior advocate Mukta Gupta argued that welfare schemes and budgets depend on census data, calling a single error catastrophic. The Centre spent Rs 13,000 crore on the census, she said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was asked to take instructions and file a note. The matter will be heard after two weeks. The petition seeks disclosure of the methodology and safeguards governing caste record verification under the Census Act, 1948 notification issued on 14 August 2026.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
- livelaw.in (neutral report) <https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-asks-union-to-file-standing-operating-procedure-on-data-collection-under-2027-census-plea-against-self-disclosure-without-verification-554299>
  Identical court hearing coverage, no added slant.
- hindustantimes.com (neutral report) <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-seeks-caste-verification-sop-under-census-101791832472769.html>
  Same hearing facts, includes procedural history, no slant.

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: Aakash Goel, Census 2027, reservation, Supreme Court, Surya Kant, Tushar Mehta
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Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-asks-centre-to-reveal-census-2027-caste-verification-sop/#story-in-brief

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