West Bengal's New Exercise to Identify Backward Classes
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Government Action | West Bengal govt. informed SC about a new survey to identify SEBC for OBC List inclusion. |
| High Court Judgment | Calcutta HC struck down WB's policy of including castes (mostly Muslim) in OBC List. |
| HC Observations | Religion was the sole criterion; inclusion of 77 Muslim classes criticized as unfair. |
| New Survey | WB Backward Classes Commission conducting a survey to identify backward communities. |
| Supreme Court's Query | Asked WB to clarify methodology and scope of the survey for assessing backwardness. |
| Impact of HC Ruling | Affected five lakh OBC certificates issued since 2010; job holders unaffected. |
| Striking Down of 2012 Act | HC nullified Sections 16, 2(h) (part 2), and 5(a) of WB Backward Classes Act, 2012. |
| OBC Categories Removed | OBC-A and OBC-B categories removed from Schedule I of the Act. |