New Delhi, July 28, 2025 — The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Calcutta High Court’s June 17 order which had put on hold the implementation of a fresh list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) notified by the West Bengal government.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, passed the interim order while issuing notice on a Special Leave Petition filed by the State of West Bengal challenging the High Court’s ruling.
As soon as the matter was taken up, CJI Gavai expressed surprise over the High Court’s reasoning that only the legislature could approve an OBC list. “How can the High Court stay like this? Reservation is part of the executive functions. This is the settled law right from Indira Sawhney. The executive can do it. Executive instructions are enough for providing reservations and legislation is not necessary,” he remarked.
The Chief Justice also disagreed with the High Court’s observation that the State was bound to place survey reports and bills before the legislature for formal amendment under the 2012 Act governing backward class identification in West Bengal.
Appearing for the State, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal urged the bench to stay the High Court’s order, highlighting that multiple appointments and promotions were on hold because of the stay. He also pointed out that contempt petitions had been filed in the High Court due to the impugned order.
Responding to the court’s suggestion of allowing the High Court to decide the matter expeditiously before a new bench, counsel for the respondents – Senior Advocates Ranjit Kumar and Guru Krishnakumar – opposed the idea and chose instead to argue the issue directly before the Supreme Court. They maintained that the new list had been drawn up without adequate data and in violation of the procedure laid out by the State’s own legislation.
Sibal rebutted the argument, asserting that the list was prepared following a fresh survey and report by the State Backward Classes Commission. “Even the High Court does not dispute that the Commission has conducted the exercise,” he submitted.
Eventually, the apex court stayed the High Court’s order, calling it “prima facie erroneous” and observed that whether the methodology adopted by the Commission was correct or not would be determined in due course. The bench noted: “The commission has followed some methodology. It may be correct or not correct, that will be decided by the High Court finally.”
The matter stems from a prior May 2024 decision of the Calcutta High Court, which had quashed the inclusion of 77 communities in the OBC list on grounds of inadequate justification. In response, the West Bengal government had told the Supreme Court that the State Backward Classes Commission would conduct a fresh identification exercise. The challenged notifications reflect the outcome of that process.
