India, May 20 -- The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the Union Government's decision to conduct caste enumeration as part of the upcoming Census exercise.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi observed that the government needs data on backward classes to frame welfare policies and schemes.

The PIL was filed by Sudhakar Gummula, who appeared before the court in person. He argued that collecting caste data could be misused by politicians and corporate entities and claimed that the government already possesses sufficient data.

Rejecting the arguments, the bench said the issue falls entirely within the policy domain of the government and does not warrant jud...