Supreme Court Halts Calcutta High Court Proceedings on West Bengal OBC List

Supreme Court's Intervention

On Thursday, the Supreme Court intervened to pause the proceedings at the Calcutta High Court regarding the West Bengal government's efforts to create a new list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

A three-judge panel led by Chief Justice BR Gavai was reviewing a petition from the state government challenging a May 2024 ruling by the High Court that annulled the classification of 77 communities as OBCs under the state's Backward Classes Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts Act, 2012.

Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state, informed the bench that the High Court was planning to continue its hearings despite the Supreme Court's involvement.

“We require a stay,” Sibal stated, emphasizing that the High Court intended to finalize its decision on the matter.

Chief Justice Gavai expressed concern over the High Court's eagerness to proceed, questioning how it could do so while the Supreme Court was already addressing the issue.

The bench scheduled the next hearing for four weeks later, instructing the High Court to refrain from any further proceedings until new orders are issued.

The previous OBC list from the West Bengal government included 113 sub-groups, with 77 being Muslim communities and 36 non-Muslim. However, the High Court's ruling in May 2024 reduced OBC reservations from 17% to 7%.

Additionally, the High Court invalidated all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010, citing that religion was the primary factor for classifying these communities, potentially impacting nearly five lakh certificates.

In response, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that her Trinamool Congress government would not accept the High Court's ruling and would maintain the existing OBC reservations.

The state government subsequently appealed the decision in the Supreme Court.

In June, the West Bengal government announced the inclusion of 76 sub-castes into the OBC category, raising the total number of communities to 140.

Among these, 80 communities were Muslim and 60 were non-Muslim, with Muslims representing 57.1% of the population in the OBC category.

This new classification aims to restore OBC reservations to the previous level of 17%.

However, later that month, the High Court issued a stay on the implementation of the notification that classified 140 communities as OBCs.