In a setback to the West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed an interim stay on the preparation of a new list of Other Backward Caste (OBC) communities.
A Division Bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Tapabrata Chakraborty issued the interim stay till the next date of hearing on July 31. The order was passed by the Division Bench following a petition seeking intervention of the High Court.
The court also put a stay on the State government’s decision to open a portal for submission of caste certificates for the purpose of addition of OBC communities in the new list.
The Calcutta High Court in May 2024 had cancelled the OBC reservation awarded to 77 categories, highlighting a complete lack of legislative policy within the 2012 scheme to classify any group as OBC. The State government has approached the Supreme Court and the matter is pending before it.
On June 10, the West Bengal government tabled a new OBC list in the State Assembly with minor changes compared to the previous list.
Question posed
During the proceedings in the court, the Division Bench asked why the new OBC list had been finalised by introducing amendments to the 2012 Act.
The High Court’s order came on a day when the State government opened a portal for admission in colleges and universities based on the new OBC list. There seems to be no clarity on the fate of the admission process particularly for those availing admission under the OBC category.
Decision welcomed
Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari in a social media post welcomed the order “to stay the inclusion of 76 Muslim classes in the new OBC list prepared by the Mamata Banerjee government”.
The Bengal BJP leadership had accused the Trinamool Congress government of “appeasement politics” for including Muslims in the OBC list. Mr. Adhikari said contrary to the claims of the State Advocate General that the Opposition has not opposed the OBC list tabled in Assembly, he had raised objections to the fresh OBC list tabled by the Chief Minister.
Published – June 18, 2025 01:34 am IST
