Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday imposed an interim stay on the publication of the final notification of West Bengal’s revised Other Backward Classes (OBC) list until July 31.
The decision deals a major blow to the state government’s attempt to overhaul the OBC categorisation.
The division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha scheduled the next hearing for July 24.
The new OBC list, based on a fresh survey initiated by the state government, was expected to include 140 communities.
The survey followed a commitment made by the West Bengal government to the Supreme Court on March 18, when it challenged an earlier Calcutta High Court order that scrapped all OBC certificates issued in the state since 2010.
The state government had assured the apex court that it would complete a new survey and issue a fresh list within three months.
However, a fresh petition filed in the Calcutta High Court questioned the methodology and scope of the survey, alleging that the state was entertaining applications only from 113 communities whose OBC status was struck down earlier.
Critics, including BJP leaders, have accused the government of disproportionately including members of the Muslim community in the revised list.
On Tuesday, the High Court observed that several notifications issued by the state in connection with the new survey violated the Supreme Court’s directives.
Welcoming the court’s interim stay, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “This is a resounding victory for the judiciary against an arrogant state government that has flouted constitutional norms for political gain. The TMC government’s blatant appeasement is evident from its attempt to include nearly 90 per cent Muslim communities in the new OBC list. The court has rightly intervened.”
To recall, in May 2024, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court had cancelled all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal post-2010, effectively nullifying certificates granted during the Trinamool Congress regime, which began in 2011.
The decision affected over 5 lakh OBC certificate holders, rendering them ineligible for benefits under the reservation quota in government jobs and education.
The state later moved the Supreme Court, which allowed the fresh survey to proceed. However, with the High Court now putting the final notification on hold, the state’s plan to publish a revised OBC list faces another legal roadblock.
(IANS)
