Calcutta HC halts West Bengal's new OBC list notification until July 31
A division bench of the
Calcutta High Court
, on Tuesday has given an interim stay on issuance of the notification for fresh Other Backward Class (OBC) list by West Bengal government in connection with 140 fresh new sub-classification of OBC. The stay order will be valid until July 31.
The division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha heard the matter today.
The interim order was passed by High Court's Division Bench following a petition, seeking intervention of the High Court.
Lawyer Bikram Bandopadhyay, who was one of the petitioner, said, 'The survey was done in haste within one month without following SC directives. We requested the Calcutta High Court to quickly do the hearing as the survey did not follow the Supreme Court guidelines. After two-day long hearing, the court has granted interim stay on notification.'
'Sub-classification related notification has been stayed. The stay order will be still July 31. We had asked to prepone the hearing. Justice Raja Sekhar Mantha questioned about new sub-classification,' the advocate added.
Live Events
A fresh survey was started by the state government on
OBC classification
. On March 18, the state government had informed the apex court to complete the process of the fresh survey within the next three months. In May 2024, the Calcutta High Court had rejected all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010.
The fresh OBC list reportedly included 140 sub-sections of OBC, with 80 minority and 60 non-Muslims, as pointed out by Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee
in the assembly.
The stay order will be valid until July 31.
Meanwhile, BJP leadership in Bengal has welcomed the court's order. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari welcoming the verdict, 'This is a victory of the
judiciary
against an arrogant state government. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government's blatant appeasement politics, as evident from the disproportionate inclusion of almost 90% new Muslim Classes in the OBC list, has been directly affront to the principles of equality and fairness.'
Union MoS for Education and BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar said, 'The verdict shows Mamata Banerjee is anti-court and anti Consti. It is like giving reservation in the name of religion is being done. Under the name of OBC-A and B. There is an attempt to give 97% reservation to the Muslims from backdoor.'
"Gratitude to Calcutta High Court for striking down Mamata Banerjee's attempt to stuff the OBC list with 76 Muslim groups—nearly 90% of new entries. This wasn't social justice. It was blatant, communal appeasement—a cynical move to hijack reservations for vote-bank politics,' Majumdar said in his X Handle.
'We are not above court. Let us see the verdict. OBC related survey has been done following court order. It is a false campaign.,' Trinamool leader Arup Chakraborty said.
Admission stalemate
With the High Court stay, uncertainty related to the entire admission procedure for colleges looms large.
Ahead of the HC order, State Education Minister Bratya Basu said, 'If there is any order comes, we will take emergency actions. Our work will be done and we will act accordingly.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
14 minutes ago
- India.com
Pakistani supporter Azerbaijan turned out to be a bigger cheater than Turkey, Iran is now in trouble due to...
(File) Iran-Israel war: In a massive development amid the ongoing Iran-Israel war, Azerbaijan's reported silence on the matter of supporting Iran has stirred controversy across the Muslim world especially in the nations like Turkey and Pakistan. According to a recent report by TV9 Hindi, 21 Muslim-majority countries issued a joint condemnation of Israel's actions, but Azerbaijan opted to stay silent—sparking accusations of betrayal from Iran. Here are all the details you need to know about the recent action from Azerbaijan. This decision comes as a surprise, considering Azerbaijan's longstanding alignment with key Islamic nations like Pakistan and Turkey. However, analysts suggest that Baku's motives are deeply rooted in economic and strategic interests. One of the major reasons cited is Azerbaijan's substantial oil trade with Israel, which exceeded one million tonnes last year. Any open support for Iran could risk jeopardizing this lucrative partnership. Dozens of foreign national, mainly Russians, arrived at Astara checkpoint on June 14 in Azerbaijan as Baku temporarily reopened border with Iran to allow people fleeing Israeli airstrikes to evacuate. The first group of evacuees listed 86 persons, two of them children, the Russian Foreign ministry said. It said in a statement that the Israeli attacks on Iran made it urgent to evacuate Russian citizens. The Russian ministry issued a warning to refrain from travel to both Iran or Israel and urged the compatriots to leave the dangerous areas and observe safety measures. The ministry posted in its telegram channel a video of a coach arriving at the checkpoint and a still photograph showing passengers on board. The first group of evacuees included the Russian Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and film crew headed by renowned actor and director Fyodor Bondarchuk as well as citizens from Belarus, Serbia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the foreign ministry said. (With inputs from agencies)
Economic Times
24 minutes ago
- Economic Times
George Soros's absence at son Alex's lavish wedding raises eyebrows on his health. Check details
George Soros skips son's wedding Live Events Who is George Soros? Billionaire Democrat George Soros did not attend his son luxurious wedding to ex-Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin this weekend, according to a report in New York Post. He, however, attended smaller Friday family service, which was reportedly officiated by a rabbi and an imam in celebration of both Abedin's Muslim faith and Soros' Jewish heritage, the report Soros, 39, wed his bride, 49, at his sprawling estate in Water Mill, New York on Saturday, surrounded by a who's who of American politics. But Alex's own father, 94-year-old Soros, wasn't in attendance. A source revealed to the publication that the top Democratic donor and philanthropist and his wife Tamiko Bolton, 'hosted an intimate family service on Friday morning at their home.'The insider added that Soros is '94 years old and in good health,' when asked if the billionaire might've skipped the Saturday event for any health George Soros was pictured with Alex wearing his wedding day suit in a happy snap his son shared to Instagram to celebrate Father's Day. 'Happy Father's Day to the goat! This was a special one,' Alex wrote alongside the at the blowout Saturday event at Alex's sprawling estate in Water Mill, N.Y., included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 'The Tonight Show' host Jimmy Fallon, Vogue icon Anna Wintour and Nicky Hilton and his father are among the most prolific fundraisers in the Democratic Party. Soros has been named heir to his father's $25 billion leading donor to Democratic is a Hungarian-born hedge fund billionaire. According to Federal Election Commission data, he contributed $175 million to left-leaning candidates and groups during the 2022 midterm elections. In 2024, he added another $60 million in support of House and Senate Democrats through his political action committee, Democracy PAC.A 2023 CNBC report revealed that the Open Society Policy Center—a nonprofit funded by the billionaire—quietly gave $140 million in 2021 to support ballot initiatives and advocacy groups. It also provided an additional $60 million to similar nonprofit George Soros has directed his personal political donations primarily through two super PACs—Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II—these efforts are now overseen by his 39-year-old son, Alex Soros, who also serves on the boards of both the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Policy Open Society Foundations website calls him a 'survivor of Nazi-occupied Hungry and then Communist repression.' Per their account, the Soros Sr has 'contributed more than $32 billion to advancing freedom and justice across the world.'In his efforts to champion education, he even founded the Central European University.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
CM Siddaramaiah must resign over RCB stampede: BJP
Mysuru: BJP functionaries staged a protest at Gandhi Square on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar over the tragic stampede at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans and left over 50 others injured. The protest was led by Krishnaraja MLA TS Srivatsa and former MLA L Nagendra, who is the city BJP unit chief, along with several senior party functionaries, including former corporators. Holding placards, the protesters squarely blamed the Congress govt for the mishap, alleging gross negligence in crowd management. Speaking to reporters, the MLA criticised the Congress-led state govt for alleged discrimination in the allocation of development funds. "Development funds are being distributed selectively, based on political affiliation. This is unacceptable. The chief minister must ensure equal treatment to all constituencies, regardless of party lines," he added. Nagendra held the govt directly accountable for the incident. "This tragedy is a result of complete administrative failure. The chief minister, deputy chief minister, and home minister G Parameshwara must take moral responsibility and resign immediately," he demanded.
