No Supreme Court Relief For Bengal Over Quashing Of OBC Status Of 77 Castes

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to pause a Calcutta High Court order cancelling the inclusion of 77 castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category by the West Bengal government.

The high court had on May 22 quashed a series of state orders during 2010-12 to include 77 castes in the OBC category. As many as 75 of them were Muslims.

It had also cancelled all OBC certificates issued in Bengal after 2010.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud today issued a notice on a petition filed by the Bengal government against the high court order. It also asked the state to provide details of the survey that was conducted to determine the social and educational backwardness of the 77 communities before including them in the OBC list.

The state government must also provide details if any consultation was held with the State Backward Commission in this regard.

The bench, comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has also sought data about the alleged under-representation of the communities in state government services.

The state has a week’s time to file an affidavit.