West Bengal to Reassess OBC Classification Amidst Legal Challenge

The West Bengal government has informed the Supreme Court of its decision to reassess the classification of Other Backward Classes (OBC) following a legal contention. This process is expected to unfold over three months and may impact the inclusion of 77 communities in the OBC category, previously nullified by the Calcutta High Court.

The West Bengal government announced plans to revisit the classification criteria for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), revealing this in a Supreme Court session on Tuesday. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal conveyed that the process is estimated to take three months, noting the involvement of the State Commission for Backward Classes.

Following these revelations, the Supreme Court, led by Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih, scheduled further deliberations for July. The reassessment aims to proceed without impacting the legal rights of parties involved, as the state challenges a prior Calcutta High Court decision that overturned the addition of 77 communities to the OBC list.

Previously, the apex court, in a session last August led by then-CJI DY Chandrachud, opted not to halt the High Court's decision. As part of its directives, the Supreme Court mandated West Bengal to elucidate the criteria and consultative process behind designating communities as OBCs.

Upon revisiting the issue, the state pledged to re-evaluate the OBC classification, with the possibility of instituting new reservations. The court advised that a transparent reassessment could render previous contentions irrelevant, assuming no objections arise from the updated process.

(With inputs from agencies.)