The Karnataka High Court has declined pleas to interfere with the socio-economic survey conducted by the state government. The court further ordered the authorities not to disclose any data obtained from participants in the process and notify participation in the process as voluntary. A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi stated: "In view of the above, we do not find to interdict the ongoing survey. However, we state that data collected shall not be disclosed to any person. Commission shall ensure that data is fully protected and kept confidential. We further direct the Commission to issue a public notification that clarifying in this survey is voluntary and no person is obligated to disclose any information and info disclosed is voluntary. This information would be necessarily have to be informed at threshold stage by enumerators."
The court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging a state government order approving the conduct of a survey of the social and educational status of citizens under the supervision of the Karnataka State Backwards Classes Commission. Senior Advocate Ravivarma Kumar for the Backwards Classes Commission submitted that the survey captures data on whether a class or caste is captured adequately or not.
It was submitted that the process of the survey had been re-examined, and there was no compulsion for residents or citizens to participate in the survey, and the same had been instructed to enumerators while training. Senior Advocate Vivek Subba Reddy stated that voluntary disclosure does not change the context of opposition to the survey. It was stated that the collection of personal information post the KS Puttaswamy case has changed, and the contour of privacy says that the ability to control the dissemination of information is part of privacy.
It was submitted that through such a collection of information by the state, they were leaving the data in an uncontrolled field. "We have attacked this on the ground of privacy...it is to be tested and for that principle of proportionality is to be applied and till that is done this exercise is to be stayed," it was submitted. Upon a submission that Aadhar data was vulnerable to being leaked, the Court clarified that the information collected by the commission is not linked to Aadhar, but the fact that the person participating has an Aadhar number would be stored.
Senior Advocate S Sriranga submitted that although the state says it is a survey, the handbook published by them refers to it as a census. In hearing the submissions, the court held that it would not interfere with the survey being conducted but would direct the data of the participants to be stored confidentially. "If a participant declines to participate, enumerators will not take any further steps to persuade or cajol participants to divulge any information. Commission shall file an affidavit within 1 working days clearly disclosing steps taken for confidentiality of data collected and stored," it said.
