The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing regarding the Bengal government’s notification of 140 new OBC sub-castes on September 9, raising alarm over delays in undergraduate admissions to government and aided institutions.
The case was listed for hearing on August 12 before a bench headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and A.S. Chandurkar, but was not taken up due to lack of time. The bench adjourned the matter to September 9, which means the interim stay granted on July 28 in favour of the Mamata government against a Calcutta High Court order remains in effect.
On July 28, the apex court stayed the Calcutta High Court’s stay on the state government’s notification of the 140 sub-castes. The Supreme Court cited the 1992 nine-judge Constitution bench ruling in the Indra Sawhney judgment, which mandates periodic revision of OBC lists. The bench expressed surprise at the high court’s stay, observing that reservation grants fall within executive powers.
Results held up
But a fresh hurdle arose. On August 7 — when the JEE board was to release the results — Justice Kaushik Chanda of the high court stayed the publication, directing the board to rework the merit list using pre-2010 OBC reservation norms. The merit lists for undergraduate admissions have also been stayed.
Justice Chanda’s order said that the Supreme Court’s July 28 interim order “does not revive or validate” OBC-A and OBC-B certificates cancelled by the high court on May 22, 2024. He said the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board (WBJEEB) allowed OBC candidates to participate using these cancelled certificates.
The state government has sought to bring this bar to the Supreme Court’s attention, but the court’s September 9 listing has left the government in a difficult position.
Education minister Bratya Basu said on Thursday: “We are concerned about the publication of the JEE results. Despite the Supreme Court’s order, efforts are underway to prevent publication.”
State JEE board chairperson Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee said: “Results will be published as soon as WBJEEB gets a directive from the higher education department.”
Justice Chanda’s order requires the board to recast the merit list, providing 7 per cent reservation for 66 OBC classes recognised before 2010, within 15 days. The judge said that the board’s move to have candidates update caste details based on the June 8 notification violated the May 22 high court order that declared 5 lakh OBC certificates “invalid”.
The OBC reservation was raised from 7 to 17 per cent after 2010, introducing OBC-A and OBC-B categories.
Colleges concerned
The delay in publishing the JEE results and merit lists has alarmed principals of engineering and general degree colleges.
Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College, said: “Classes for students on the first merit list were to begin August 1. The delay jeopardises the academic calendar.”
The principal of a government engineering college added that delayed BTech classes would disrupt the schedule for first-semester exams in January.
BTech admissions to over 100 private engineering colleges, 10 government colleges, and two state-aided universities — Jadavpur and Calcutta — depend on the state JEE ranks.