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15 July 2026

West Bengal OBC list litigation

The topic involves a significant High Court judgment regarding the constitutional validity of OBC reservation criteria, which directly relates to social justice, secularism, and the legal framework for affirmative action.

1 min read 2 questions 1 prelims

Notes

  • The West Bengal government and the State Backward Classes Commission withdrew their appeals in the Supreme Court against a Calcutta High Court verdict.
  • The High Court had struck down the inclusion of 77 castes, including 75 Muslim communities, in the State’s OBC list.
  • The High Court observed that religion appeared to be the sole criterion for the classification of these groups.
  • The court invalidated reservations granted between April and September 2010, as well as 37 classes of reservation under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
  • The State government has discontinued religion-based categorisation and regularised 66 communities included in the OBC list prior to 2010.
  • The revised policy provides for a 7% reservation for these communities in government services and posts, replacing the previous system of 10% (Category A) and 7% (Category B) quotas.

Questions

  1. Discuss the constitutional implications of using religion as a criterion for determining social and educational backwardness in the context of reservation policies. 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
    0 / 150 words 8:00
  2. Examine the role of the judiciary in reviewing the inclusion of specific communities in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. How does judicial oversight ensure that reservation policies remain consistent with the constitutional mandate of equality? 250 words
    Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min
    0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

  1. The Calcutta High Court struck down the inclusion of 77 castes in the West Bengal OBC list primarily on which of the following grounds?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-07-15/west-bengal-obc-list-litigation