NEW DELHI: The West Bengal government on Tuesday sought a hearing and stay in Supreme Court on Calcutta high court’s ruling which invalidated the reservation granted to these castes from April to September 2010 and 37 additional castes were included under a 2012 law.
The apex court will hear the plea on August 27.
Earlier, the top court had refused to stay Calcutta high court’s May 22 judgment quashing inclusion of 77 communities, 75 of them Muslims, in West Bengal’s OBC list and sought details of surveys determining their social and educational backwardness and under-representation in govt jobs requiring their inclusion in the OBC list.
While agreeing to examine the validity of the HC judgment, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked advocate Astha Sharma, representing West Bengal govt, to file an affidavit within a week detailing the process followed to include 77 communities in the OBC list through various executive orders between 2010 and 2012.
Calcutta HC’s division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha had said on May 22, “No data was disclosed on the basis of which it was ascertained that the community concerned is not adequately represented in services under Bengal govt.”
Jaising protested the language employed by the HC to deride the West Bengal Backward Class Commission, which is headed by a retired HC chief justice. “Is it fair on the HC’s part to term the commission as ‘handmaiden’ and ‘pet’ of the state govt? I want these remarks expunged immediately,” she said. The SC said it will consider all arguments during the final hearing. The hearing is likely to take place next week.
The apex court will hear the plea on August 27.
Earlier, the top court had refused to stay Calcutta high court’s May 22 judgment quashing inclusion of 77 communities, 75 of them Muslims, in West Bengal’s OBC list and sought details of surveys determining their social and educational backwardness and under-representation in govt jobs requiring their inclusion in the OBC list.
While agreeing to examine the validity of the HC judgment, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked advocate Astha Sharma, representing West Bengal govt, to file an affidavit within a week detailing the process followed to include 77 communities in the OBC list through various executive orders between 2010 and 2012.
Calcutta HC’s division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha had said on May 22, “No data was disclosed on the basis of which it was ascertained that the community concerned is not adequately represented in services under Bengal govt.”
Jaising protested the language employed by the HC to deride the West Bengal Backward Class Commission, which is headed by a retired HC chief justice. “Is it fair on the HC’s part to term the commission as ‘handmaiden’ and ‘pet’ of the state govt? I want these remarks expunged immediately,” she said. The SC said it will consider all arguments during the final hearing. The hearing is likely to take place next week.