NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the West Bengal Government to furnish quantifiable data on social, economic backwardness and inadequacy of representation in public employment of the castes included by it in the OBC list for extending reservation benefits.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud issued notices to those who had challenged before the Calcutta High Court the inclusion of 77 castes, mostly Muslims, in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. It also issued notice on the West Bengal Government’s application seeking to stay the High Court’s verdict.
The Bench which also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra directed the West Bengal Government to file an affidavit explaining the process followed for classification of 77 castes as OBCs.
The top court also sought to know the nature of the survey; if there was a lack of consultation with the Commission (state backward commission) in respect of any of the 77 communities designated as OBCs; and if any consultation was done by the state for the sub-classification of the OBCs.
The Calcutta High Court had on May 22 quashed the OBC status of several castes in West Bengal granted since 2010, declaring the reservation given to them in services and posts in the state as illegal.
The High Court struck down several classes for reservation as Other Backward Classes (OBC) given under The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
“Religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion” for declaring these communities as OBCs, the High Court had said.
However, the High Court 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 had succeeded in any selection process of the state would not be affected by the order.
The HC had directed that the state’s executive orders classifying several other classes as OBCs from March 5, 2010, to May 11, 2012, were also quashed, in view of the illegality of the reports recommending such classification. The directions will be given prospective effect, it clarified.