Supreme Court to hear West Bengal challenge to HC stay on fresh OBC list exercise on July 28
Also Read | In mission to trigger review of State OBC lists, NCBC hits a wall of absent socio-economic data
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai remarked that judicial precedent, right from the nine-judge Bench historic verdict in the Indira Sawhney case in 1992, dictated that backward classes in the society could be identified through Executive directions.
Orally mentioning the plea for West Bengal, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the State was even facing contempt action from the High Court.
He said a writ petition was filed in the High Court claiming that a new list could be prepared only if the exercise was backed by legislation. The High Court had consequently stayed the State exercise on June 17.
'The High Court orders came on the writ petition saying classification of backward classes should be on the basis of a legislation… That we (State) has to legislate… This morning the case was listed for contempt,' Mr. Sibal submitted.
The CJI responded orally that 'it [classification] can be done by Executive instructions… This has been so since the Indira Sawhney judgment'.
The Bench listed the case for hearing on July 28. 'The contempt should not go on,' Mr. Sibal urged. The Chief Justice indicated that the court would pass orders on Monday.
In March, West Bengal had opted to withdraw from the Supreme Court its appeal against a High Court judgment of May 2024 which struck down a State policy to include several castes, largely Muslim communities, in the OBC list.
Also Read | BJP, Trinamool wage war of words over West Bengal's revised OBC list
The High Court had concluded that religion was the 'sole criterion for declaring these communities as OBC'. It had found the 'selection of 77 classes of Muslims as backwards an affront to the Muslim community as a whole'.
At the time of the withdrawal of the appeal from the top court, Mr. Sibal had informed that the State Backward Classes Commission would prepare a fresh list after identifying socially and educationally backward communities.
The 2024 High Court judgment had impacted five lakh OBC certificates issued in the State since 2010. It had struck down portions of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
Among the Sections nullified were Section 16, the second part of Section 2(h), and Section 5(a) of the Act, which distributed reservation percentages of 10% and 7% to the sub-classified categories. Consequently, the sub-classified categories OBC-A and OBC-B were removed from Schedule I of the Act.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
7.2cr voters in post-SIR Bihar draft roll, against 7.9cr before
PTI file photo New Delhi: The draft roll for Bihar published by the Election Commission on Friday includes 7.24 crore electors who submitted their enumeration forms within the July 25 deadline. Bihar's electorate, as per the draft roll, is over 65.6 lakh less than its 7.9 crore strength on June 24, 2025, ahead of the onset of the special intensive revision. This figure of 65.6 lakh, made public by EC on July 27 after conclusion of the first phase of SIR, includes 22 lakh dead electors, 36 lakh permanently shifted or absent/untraceable, 7 lakh voters enrolled at more than one place and electors who did not submit their enumeration forms. As many as 15 districts have recorded a higher than state average, though not alarming, percentage of exclusions from the draft roll. These include Gopalganj (15.1%), Purnea (12.1%), Kishanganj (11.8%), Madhubani (10.4%) and Bhagalpur (10.2%). Kishanganj and Purnea are districts with allegedly high concentration of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Kishanganj is also the only Muslim majority district in Bihar, while Purnia has over 38.4% Muslims. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Car Insurance Rates Are Dropping - Find Out If You're Overpaying AutoSaveMax Get Quote Undo Interestingly, Araria and Katihar - where Muslims' share in the population is 43-44% and which also allegedly have Bangladeshi immigrant settlers - have recorded exclusions (7.6% and 8.2%) short of the state average of 8.3%. EC said any elector or party can now file claims and objections with ERO till Sept 1, seeking addition of wrongfully excluded electors or deletions of ineligible ones. From Saturday, EC will release a daily update on claims and objections.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Bihar Assembly Elections: Seemanchal, close to Bangladesh, sees significant voter deletion
Bihar's Seemanchal region which accommodates four districts - Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar - has witnessed a significant voter deletion in the draft electoral roll. Since the region is close to Bangladesh and shares boundaries with Nepal, these four districts, which have a high Muslim population, are known for infiltration. Araria saw a deletion of 1,58,072 voters, Kishanganj 1,45,668, Purnia 2,73,920 and Katihar 1,84,254 in the draft list. Now after the deletion, the number of voters in Araria stands at 19,24,414; Kishanganj 10,86,242; Purnia 19,94,511 and Katihar 20,44,809. The Seemanchal region, which has 24 assembly seats, is considered a tough battlefield for both main political players - ruling NDA and main Opposition INDIA bloc (previously known as Mahagathbandhan) because of polarisation of voters on communal lines during the elections. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Data Science MCA Cybersecurity Project Management CXO Healthcare Management Operations Management Leadership Product Management MBA Artificial Intelligence Public Policy Degree Design Thinking Others Digital Marketing healthcare Finance Technology others PGDM Data Analytics Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details In most of the 24 constituencies, the candidates faced close contests in the previous elections. In 2020 assembly polls, AIMIM had made its presence felt in this region by bagging five seats. The presence of AIMIM candidates in different seats of this region was a major source of trouble for the Mahagtahbandhan then. Although a clear political picture of the Seemanchal region will emerge after the final publication of electors' list, both the NDA and INDIA bloc are set to swing into action to ensure proper verification of the draft list of electors in this region.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Trump pushes to expand Abraham Accords with Azerbaijan, Central Asian nations, say sources
The Trump administration is in advanced talks with Azerbaijan and preliminary discussions with Central Asian nations to expand the Abraham Accords, according to sources. The initiative aims to solidify symbolic ties with Israel, despite regional tensions and the ongoing war in Gaza. read more The administration of US President Donald Trump is in discussions with Azerbaijan about the possibility of the country, along with some Central Asian partners, joining the Abraham Accords, with the aim of strengthening their current relationships with Israel, according to five sources familiar with the matter. As part of the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 and 2021 during Trump's first term, four Muslim-majority nations agreed to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel following US mediation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Azerbaijan and all Central Asian countries, on the other hand, already have longstanding relations with Israel, so any expansion of the accords to include them would be largely symbolic, focussing on strengthening ties in areas such as trade and military cooperation, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss private conversations. Such an expansion would demonstrate Trump's willingness to consider less ambitious agreements than his administration's objective of persuading regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to re-establish ties with Israel while conflict rages in Gaza. The kingdom has repeatedly said that it will not recognise Israel until Israel recognises a Palestinian state. A rising death toll in Gaza and malnutrition caused by Israel's blockade of supplies and military operations have fuelled Arab outrage, hindering efforts to expand the Abraham Accords to include additional Muslim-majority nations. The war in Gaza, where over 60,000 people including tens of thousands of women and children have died according to local health authorities, has provoked global anger. Canada, France and the United Kingdom have announced plans in recent days to recognize an independent Palestine. Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan's conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said. While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump's special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said. As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia - which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan - were contacted. The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. 'We are working to get more countries to join,' said a US official. The Azerbaijani government declined to comment. The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel. Obstacles remain The original Abraham Accords - inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan - were centered on restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand US and Israeli soft power. Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region. Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories. Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic - but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But challenges remain and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict. Primarily Christian Armenia and the US have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan. Still, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near. 'Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there,' Trump told reporters earlier in July. 'And it's pretty close.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
