Calcutta High Court’s directive on merit list revision for Joint Entrance Board remains in effect until scheduled hearing on September 9.
Agencies & KalimNews, August 12, 2025 : The Supreme Court has rejected the West Bengal government’s request for an urgent hearing in the ongoing case concerning the state’s OBC certificate notification. Chief Justice B.R. Gavai made it clear on Tuesday that the matter would be heard only on the date already fixed — about a month from now — and no earlier.
The state’s plea came a day after the apex court was scheduled to hear the case on Monday but could not take it up due to time constraints. The court had then informed the parties that the matter would be heard after a month. Following this, the state government’s counsel sought the Chief Justice’s intervention, arguing that the Calcutta High Court had been issuing a series of directions in the matter, leading to multiple complications. The counsel urged for the hearing to be advanced to either the coming Thursday or the following Monday. However, the Chief Justice declined, stating that an expedited hearing would not be possible.
Sources indicate that the Supreme Court is likely to hear the case on September 9, 2025.
The dispute stems from a series of legal battles over the validity of West Bengal’s OBC certificate notification. On July 28, 2025, the Supreme Court had granted an interim stay on a Calcutta High Court order in the matter. However, last Thursday, a bench led by Justice Kaushik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court cancelled the Joint Entrance Board’s merit list and directed the preparation of a fresh one. The High Court further ruled that the new merit list must not be based on the revised OBC list, and should instead use the pre-2010 OBC community list as the reference. The court set a 15-day deadline for publishing the new list.
As a result of these judicial developments, the publication of results by the West Bengal Joint Entrance Board has been stalled, putting the future of a large number of students in uncertainty. The state government, challenging the High Court’s directive, approached the Supreme Court, but with the urgent hearing plea now dismissed, Justice Chanda’s order remains in effect for the time being.
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