The West Bengal government on March 18 informed the Supreme Court that the state라이브 바카라 commission for backward classes was re-examining the issue of backwardness.
The apex court had last year asked the state to provide quantifiable data on social and economic backwardness of fresh castes.
The West Bengal government on March 18 informed the Supreme Court that the state라이브 바카라 commission for backward classes was re-examining the issue of backwardness.
The state told the bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih that the process would likely conclude within three months. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state, requested the hearing be scheduled after three months. The bench acknowledged the request and set the matter for July.
The exercise, the court said, would be without prejudice to the rights of either of the parties in the proceedings. The pleas, including the one by the state, have challenged the Calcutta High Court's May 22 2024 verdict that struck down the OBC status of several castes in West Bengal granted since 2010.
The high court held as illegal their reservation in public sector jobs and state-run educational institutions. "Religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion for declaring these communities as OBCs," it said.
The high court also said the "selection of 77 classes of Muslims as backwards is an affront to the Muslim community as a whole". It was dealing with petitions challenging the provisions of the state's 2012 reservation law and reservations granted in 2010.
The high court, however, had clarified that the services of citizens of the struck-down classes, who were already in service or had availed the benefit of reservation, or succeeded in any selection process of the state, would not be affected by the judgment.
It had struck down 77 classes of reservation given between April, 2010 and September, 2010 aside from 37 classes for reservation as OBC given under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
On August 5 last year, the apex court asked the state government to provide quantifiable data on social and economic backwardness of fresh castes it had included in the OBC list and on their inadequate representation in public sector jobs.
It also asked the state to file an affidavit giving details of the consultations, if any, conducted by it and the state's backward classes panel before including 37 castes, mostly Muslim groups, in the OBC list.
With inputs from PTI.