The Supreme Court on Monday intensified scrutiny over the inclusion of 77 castes, predominantly Muslim, in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list in West Bengal by seeking quantifiable data on their social and economic backwardness and their representation in public sector employment.
The apex court’s directive comes after the Calcutta High Court on May 22 invalidated the OBC status granted to these communities since 2010, deeming the reservations in vacancies in state services and posts as unlawful. The High Court criticized the selection process, suggesting that religion was used as the primary criterion for determining backwardness, which it described as an “affront to the Muslim community as a whole.”
In response, the Supreme Court issued notices to both the state government of West Bengal and the private litigants who had initially challenged the inclusion of these castes in the OBC list. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, presided over the bench that also requested a detailed affidavit from the state. This document is to outline the survey methods used for classification, any consultations (or lack thereof) with the state backward panel, and the rationale for any sub-classifications within the OBCs.
The state government has since filed an appeal against the High Court’s judgment, defending its decision to include the 77 castes under the OBC umbrella, which includes several communities designated between April and September 2010, and further classes defined by a 2012 law.
