West Bengal

• 20 Mar 2025

Backward Classes in West Bengal

Why in News? 

The West Bengal government informed the Supreme Court that the State’s Backward Classes Commission is initiating a new exercise to identify Socially and Educationally Backward Communities (SEBC) eligible for inclusion in the State’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) List. 

 Key Points 

• Appeal Against High Court Judgment: 
  • The West Bengal government challenged the Calcutta High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. 
  • The High Court had struck down the State's policy of including several castes, predominantly from Muslim communities, in the OBC List. 
  • High Court’s Observations: 
    • The Calcutta High Court ruled that religion was the sole criterion for designating these communities as OBC. 
    • It criticized the inclusion of 77 Muslim classes as backward, calling it an affront to the Muslim community as a whole. 
• Fresh Exercise to Identify Backward Communities: 
  • It was informed in the court that the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission is conducting a new survey to determine sections needing reservation. 
  • The Court asked the State to clarify the methodology and scope of its survey to assess the social and educational backwardness of these communities. 
  • The Court also questioned whether these communities faced inadequate representation in State public services, justifying their inclusion in the OBC List. 
• Impact of High Court Ruling on OBC Certificates: 
  • The High Court ruling affected five lakh OBC certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010. 
  • However, the Court clarified that individuals who had already secured jobs using these certificates would not be affected. 
• Striking Down of 2012 Act Provisions: 
  • The High Court nullified specific sections of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than SCs and STs) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012. 
    • Struck-down provisions included Section 16, the second part of Section 2(h), and Section 5(a), which allocated 10% and 7% reservation to sub-classified categories. 
    • As a result, OBC-A and OBC-B categories were removed from Schedule I of the Act. 

 Similar Religion-based Reservation in Other States 

• Kerala: Provides an 8% Muslim quota within its 30% OBC quota. 
• Tamil Nadu and Bihar: Also Include Muslim caste groups in their OBC quota. 
• Karnataka: Had a 4% sub-quota for Muslims within the 32% OBC quota. 
  • State government in 2023 redistributed this sub-quota among Vokkaligas and Lingayats