Overview
- The Union government told the bench that the Constitution envisages a single authoritative census under the Centre and described Karnataka’s exercise as a census cloaked as a survey.
- The state defended the door-to-door enumeration as a voluntary, socio‑economic and educational survey needed for welfare policy, citing Supreme Court precedents and the 105th Constitutional Amendment.
- The bench pressed both sides on safeguards and scope, questioning the difference between a census and a survey, the authority to affix geo‑tag stickers, and whether households are told participation is optional.
- The Backward Classes Commission said it has removed or masked several caste entries with ‘Christian’ tags from the survey list and app after objections, a move the BJP hailed as a win for community leaders.
- Operations remain uneven: Day 1 logged roughly 2,765 households due to technical glitches and delayed kits, teachers protested assignments in parts of Belagavi, and some districts like Mysuru reported improved pace on Day 2.