The West Bengal government on Monday told the Supreme Court that the Calcutta High Court was attempting to run the state’s administrative machinery, reported Bar and Bench.
The state government was clapping back at the Calcutta High Court for its critical remarks about the state while ordering the cancellation of all Other Backward Class certificates issued there after 2010.
A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing an appeal by the West Bengal government challenging the High Court’s May judgement.
The High Court had held that Muslims had been treated as a “commodity for political ends” when the state government designated 77 classes of Muslims as “backward”.
Adding them to the list of Other Backward Classes was to “treat them as a vote bank”, the High Court had said, striking down Section 16 of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
On Monday, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, representing the state of West Bengal, argued that the High Court’s actions amounted to judicial overreach.
“Why is all this happening.. because these are Muslims? And they say it is about religion... Complete falsehood,” Jaising said. “It is being said that I made reservations because there are Muslims... We have report after report to show that all communities have been considered. Mandal Commission criteria have been followed. State wants to run the State... but if [High] Court wants to run it, then let them.. How should we? Please answer,” she argued.
After considering the preliminary submissions, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on the state government’s appeal, which also seeks an interim stay on the High Court’s decision.
The Supreme Court asked the state government to provide details of the quantifiable data used to include the 77 Muslim communities as in the Other Backward Classes list.
“State shall show if any consultation was carried out with the [West Bengal State Backward Class] commission to identify the OBC and State shall also show the nature of surveys, etc that was adhered to,” the Supreme Court also ordered.
The Supreme Court noted that the High Court’s May judgement had a “radical impact”.
“The identification was done without [West Bengal State Backward Class] commission reference… that is the argument,” the chief justice said. “To strike down the Act has radical impact... no reservation for West Bengal at all. This is radical.”
Jaising concurred that the High Court decision had resulted in a complete suspension of all reservations in West Bengal.
“Entire State has no reservation… This affects NEET as well as we have reservation in education also,” she said. “We cannot live in a situation which has no reservation for OBC in the State of West Bengal. 39% of the State population is OBC.”
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the respondents, described the state government’s decision to extend reservations to the Muslim groups as “absolute fraud”.
“This is an egregious case and no notice should be issued,” he said.
Senior Advocate PS Patwalia, also representing respondents, said that state government’s decision was politically motivated.
“Once the chief minister made a promise, the commission was in a tearing hurry to identify a section as OBC,” Patwalia contended.
Rohatgi added that the High Court had expressed doubts about whether any survey was conducted to determine the castes that required reservation. He noted that the reservation might have been extended to “pre-identified castes” based on religion, as indicated by the High Court’s ruling.
The Supreme Court declined to stay the High Court’s decision and said that it would hear the matter in detail.
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