West Bengal seeks urgent hearing of reservation case in SC

The West Bengal government has requested the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing of its appeal against a High Court ruling that removed certain castes including several Muslim castes from the state’s OBC list.

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• As per West Bengal Government, the state’s public service appointments have been delayed due to the uncertainty caused by the May 22 High Court judgement.
• The court had nullified certain provisions of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act, 2012.
  • The High Court’s ruling had removed OBC-A and OBC-B sub-categories from the state’s OBC list.
• The Supreme Court has asked West Bengal to clarify the methodology and scope of the survey conducted to identify the social and educational backwardness of the communities included in the OBC list, along with consultations with the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission.

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About Other Backward Classes (OBCs)

• Other Backward Class is a Collective term used to classify castes which are educationally or socially disadvantaged. 
• Central List : Article 342A (1) authorised the President (in consultation of the governor of the state) to specify the Central list of the OBCs, in relation to a particular State or Union Territory. 
  • Any modification to the central list of the OBCs can be done only by the Parliament.
• State List : Article 342A (3) empowers every State or UT to prepare and maintain for its own purposes, a list of SEBC entries which may be different from the Central List.
• The Constitution’s 127th Amendment (2021) empowered States and Union Territories to create their own lists of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) and allocate reservations accordingly.

OBC Reservation

• OBC reservation in India is rooted in the 1980 Mandal Commission report, which recommended a 27% reservation for OBCs in government services and educational institutions.
• The Mandal report identified OBCs based on socio-educational surveys, census data, and historical factors.
• The Supreme Court’s Indira Sawhney vs Union of India judgement (1992) upheld the 27% OBC reservation.
  • It also introduced the ‘creamy layer’ concept, excluding affluent OBC members from the benefits. 
  • The creamy layer limit, currently set at Rs 8 lakhs annually, has evolved over time, and States implement it while determining OBC quotas.
• The Centre has a 27% OBC quota for government jobs and educational institutions, while States can determine their own OBC lists and reservation percentages. 
• However, States are constrained by the Supreme Court’s 50% ceiling on total reservations, which includes all categories like SCs, STs, and OBCs.
• Several States, including Tamil Nadu (69%), Chhattisgarh (69%), and Maharashtra (62%), have exceeded the 50% cap. 
  • These breaches have led to legal challenges, and in some cases, the Supreme Court has struck down laws that exceed this limit

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Supreme Court Rulings on OBC Reservation

• M. Nagaraja v. Union of India (2006): The Court upheld the validity of the 27% reservation for OBCs in central services, but imposed certain conditions to ensure the creamy layer principle was followed.
• R. K. Chhabra v. Union of India (2008): The Court clarified that the creamy layer exclusion should be applied prospectively, meaning only those OBCs who had enjoyed certain benefits in the past would be excluded.
• Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab (2018): The Court upheld the validity of the Punjab government’s reservation policy for OBCs in educational institutions, rejecting the argument that it violated the 50% cap on total reservations.
• E. V. Chinnadurai v. State of Tamil Nadu (2020): The Court upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s 7.5% reservation for students from government schools in medical and engineering colleges, even though it went beyond the 50% cap, citing the state’s special circumstances.
• Constitutional Provisions OBC Reservation: 
  • Article 15(4): State has the power to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward class i.e., the OBC.
  • Article 16(4): State is empowered to enact laws for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of OBCs.
  • Article 340: President, may by order appoint to investigate the conditions of SEBCs and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties and to improve their condition. 

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