Home department has notified the issue of directives for public cooperation for the smooth conduct of the upcoming Census 2027. The 1st Phase of the ensuing Census 2027 i.e. House-listing and Housing Census will commence for the State of Nagaland from 1st July 2026 to 30th July 2026 and the option for self-enumeration will be operational from 16th June, 2026 to 30th June 2027, with the 2nd Phase of the Population Enumeration (PE) which would be conducted in the country during February 2027 followed by revisional round from 1st to 5th March 2027.
The Census is the primary source of data up to the lowest administrative units, i.e. villages in rural area and towns/wards in urban areas on Housing condition, Amenities & Assets, Demography, Literacy, religion, Economic Activity, Migration, Fertility etc. It is widely used for planning and formulation of policies and effective Public Administration by the Central/State/UT Governments apart from other utility in governance. Thus, the public are to cooperate in Census taking and provide the correct information.
Some of the important provisions in the Census Act, 1948 are reproduced below for information of the public:
ii. Section 8: Asking of Questions and Obligation to answer.
1. A census-officer may ask all questions of all persons within the limits of the local area for which he is appointed as, by instructions issued in this behalf by the Central Government and published in the Official Gazette, he may be directed to ask.
2. Every person of whom any question is asked under sub-section (1) shall be legally bound to answer such questions to the best of his knowledge or belief:
Provided that no person shall be bound to state the name of any female member of his household and no woman shall be bound to state the name of her husband or deceased husband or of other person whose name she is forbidden by custom to mention.
iii. Section 9: Occupier to permit access and affixing of numbers.
Every person occupying any house, enclosure, vessel or other place shall allow census-officers such access thereto as they may require for the purposes of the census and as, having regard to the customs of the country, may be reasonable, and shall allow them to paint on, or affix to, the place such letters, marks or numbers as may be necessary for the purposes of the census.
iv. Section 10: Occupier or manager to fill up schedule.
1. Subject to such orders as the Census Commissioner may issue in this behalf, a census-officer may, within the local area for which he is appointed, leave or cause to be left a schedule at any dwelling-house or with the manager or any officer of any commercial or industrial establishment, for the purpose of its being filled up by the occupiers of such house or of any specified part thereof or by such manager or officer with such particulars as the Census Commissioner may direct regarding the inmates of such house or part thereof, or the persons employed under such manager or officer, as the case may be, at the time of the taking of the census.
2. When such schedule has been so left, the said occupier, manager or officer, as the case may be, shall fill it up or cause it to be filled up to the best of his knowledge or belief so far as regards the inmates of such house or part thereof or the persons employed under him, as the case may be, at the time aforesaid, and shall sign his name thereto and, when so required, shall deliver the schedule so filled up and signed to the census-officer or to such person as the census-officer may direct.
V. Section 11: Penalties.
1. (a) Any census-officer or any person lawfully required to give assistance towards the taking of census who refuses to perform any duty imposed upon him by this Act or any rule made thereunder, or any person who hinders or obstructs another person in performing any such duty, or
(b) any census-officer or any person lawfully required to give assistance towards the taking of a census who neglects to use reasonable diligence in performing any duty imposed upon him or in obeying any order issued to him in accordance with this Act or any rule made thereunder, or any person who hinders or obstructs another person in performing any such duty or obeying any such order, or
(c) any person who intentionally gives a false answer to, or refuses to answer to the best of his knowledge or belief, any question asked of him by a census-officer which he is legally bound by section 8 to answer, or
(d) any person occupying any house, enclosure, vessel or other place who refuses to allow a census-officer such reasonable access thereto as he is required by section 9 to allow, or
(e) any person who removes, obliterates, alters, or damages any letters, marks or numbers which have been painted or affixed for the purposes of the census, or
(f) any person who, having been required under section 10 to fill up a schedule, knowingly and without sufficient cause fails to comply with the provisions of that section, or makes any false return thereunder, or
(g) any person who trespasses into a census office, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees and in case of a conviction under part (a) shall also be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years.
2. Whoever abets any offence under sub-section (1) shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
v. Section 15: Records of census not open to inspection nor admissible in evidence.
No person shall have a right to inspect any book, register or record made by census-officer in the discharge of his duty as such, or any schedule delivered under section 10, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023), no entry in any such book, register, record or schedule shall be admissible as evidence in any civil proceeding whatsoever or in any criminal proceeding other than a prosecution under this Act or any other law for any act or omission which constitutes an offence under this Act.
(DIPR)