The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that no further proceedings will take place before the Calcutta High Court in the matter concerning the quashing of OBC status granted to several castes in West Bengal since 2010.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Vipul M. Pancholi, passed the direction while hearing a batch of ten petitions, including one by the West Bengal government, challenging the Calcutta High Court’s May 22, 2024 judgment. The High Court had struck down the inclusion of 77 classes granted OBC status between April and September 2010, and an additional 37 classes included under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
“When the Supreme Court is seized of the matter, how can the High Court proceed with it?” observed the CJI. The bench then clarified, “Until further orders are passed, there will be no further proceedings in the Calcutta High Court.” The petitions will be heard again after four weeks.
The High Court’s May 22 judgment had declared the OBC classification of several communities illegal, holding that “religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion for declaring these communities as OBCs.” It described the selection of 77 Muslim classes as “an affront to the Muslim community as a whole.”
While striking down the classifications, the High Court had protected existing appointments and benefits already availed by individuals belonging to those classes, stating their services or selections would not be disturbed.
The verdict came on petitions challenging the 2010 and 2012 decisions of the state government that expanded the OBC list substantially, with the petitioners alleging religion-based categorisation without adequate data on backwardness.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, told the bench that the High Court had scheduled hearings in the matter for November 18. He recalled that earlier this year, the State Backward Classes Commission had undertaken a fresh examination of the backwardness issue and was expected to complete the exercise within three months.
The Supreme Court had previously, on August 5, 2024, directed the state to furnish quantifiable data on the social and economic backwardness of newly added communities and the extent of their underrepresentation in public employment, as well as details of any consultations held before their inclusion in the OBC list.
With Thursday’s order, the top court has effectively paused all further proceedings in the High Court pending its own consideration of the constitutional validity of the OBC classifications made in the state since 2010.
