The Supreme Court said Today (July 24) it will hear West Bengal’s plea against the Calcutta High Court’s stay on its new OBC list. The case affects lakhs of students and job aspirants across the state.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India agreed to hear on July 28, 2025, the West Bengal government’s petition challenging the Calcutta High Court’s decision that temporarily stopped the implementation of a new list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the state.
This move has deep legal and political significance, as it affects reservations in jobs, education, and scholarships for lakhs of people across West Bengal.
What Happened in Court?
A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran accepted to urgently hear the matter after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, requested the court to take it up soon.
Sibal informed the court that the High Court’s stay was based on a petition that argued the state should make a law for such changes, instead of acting through executive orders, which contradicts earlier court rulings.
However, CJI Gavai reminded that in the historic 1992 Indra Sawhney (Mandal Commission) case, the Supreme Court had clearly said the government has the power to identify OBCs without needing to pass a law.
Sibal also mentioned that a contempt petition had been wrongly filed in the High Court, even though the state had not disobeyed any previous order. He asked for all High Court proceedings on the issue to be put on hold.
Background: What Triggered the Dispute
- On June 17, 2025, the Calcutta High Court temporarily stopped a June 3 state government notification that introduced a revised OBC list under the West Bengal Backward Classes Act, 1993.
- The High Court bench, led by Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Tapabrata Chakraborty, said that many of the same communities that were removed from the OBC list in May 2024 had been included again, raising legal and procedural concerns.
- The court questioned how quickly the new list was prepared and whether proper methods were followed.
State Government’s Argument in Supreme Court
The West Bengal government, in its petition before the top court, claimed:
- The new OBC list was based on a structured socio-economic survey by a judicial commission.
- The entire process followed constitutional principles and guidelines from the Supreme Court’s Mandal judgment.
- The High Court’s stay has caused huge disruption—over 5 lakh OBC certificates are pending, affecting students, job seekers, and those applying for scholarships.
- The list is not religion-based. Of the 140 listed groups, nearly 60 are Hindu communities.
Political Angle: Accusations and Denials
The move has stirred a major political debate:
- The TMC-led state government says the revised list ensures fair representation of socially backward groups.
- But opposition parties, especially the BJP and CPI(M), allege that the list was designed to favor Muslim communities for political gains ahead of elections.
- The High Court had also observed that the government’s action may have been taken in “hot haste”, without enough legislative backing—raising the issue of executive overreach.
Why This Case Is Important
- Over 5 lakh people are waiting for OBC certificates that are currently on hold.
- College admissions, government jobs, and scholarships under the 17% OBC quota are delayed.
- It raises a big constitutional question—can a state identify OBCs through government orders, or does it need a proper law passed by the legislature?
Next Hearing: July 28, 2025
The Supreme Court’s decision on this issue will set a crucial precedent for how states across India can handle reservation policies, especially in the absence of legislative action.
All eyes will be on the hearing scheduled for July 28, which may have long-term legal and political consequences.
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