Supreme Court Delays Hearing On West Bengal’s OBC Inclusion Petition

The Supreme Court today declined to immediately hear the West Bengal government’s petition concerning the inclusion of 77 castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in the state. The court has scheduled to review the petition on August 27.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, argued before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the stay imposed by the Kolkata High Court is impacting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examinations. During a previous hearing, the Supreme Court had opted not to stay the High Court’s decision.

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The Supreme Court had previously requested detailed information from the West Bengal government on the criteria used for granting reservation. The High Court’s order had canceled approximately 1.2 lakh OBC certificates issued by the state, primarily affecting Muslim communities among the 77 castes.

The controversy stems from challenges to the provisions of the State Reservation Act of 2012, which contest in the Kolkata High Court. The court’s decision came after reviewing these petitions. According to the petitioners’ lawyer, over five lakh individuals have been classified under OBC status in West Bengal since 2010. The High Court’s ruling stipulate that these certificates could not be used for job or other types of reservations.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has criticized the High Court’s order. In response, the state government and the State Backward Classes Commission have appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the High Court’s decision.