SC Clears Path for UG Admissions After OBC Ruling

The Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the OBC reservation matter has effectively removed any legal obstacles delaying the release of the Centralised Admission Portal (CAP) merit list, according to senior officials in West Bengal’s education department.

Legal advisors to the department have confirmed that undergraduate admissions for 2025 can now proceed under the revised OBC list without any legal hindrance. The 2025 list recognizes 76 additional communities under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories, expanding from 64 communities listed in 2010. This expansion has led to an increase in reservation quotas, growing from 7% prior to 2010 to 17% in 2025.

The uncertainty surrounding the legal status of the new OBC list caused repeated delays in CAP deadlines, which were pushed from July 1 to July 15, then to July 25, and finally extended to July 30. This delay also affected the release of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) results and admissions at institutions such as Presidency University.

With the legal clarity provided by the Supreme Court, the education department has announced that the merit list publication can now go ahead without further postponement. Applications for undergraduate courses were kept open till July 30 to accommodate the delay.

Education Minister Bratya Basu expressed his satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s decision via a post on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a moral victory for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He stated that the department had anticipated the outcome and was prepared to act swiftly.

Officials indicated they are awaiting the official court order before initiating the final steps of the admission process. Students will soon be able to update their category information and course preferences through a dedicated online link.

According to Debanjan Mandal, managing partner at legal firm Fox & Mandal, which is advising the state government, approximately nine lakh undergraduate admissions were impacted by the uncertainty. He remarked that the Supreme Court’s ruling has now removed this bottleneck, allowing the admission process to resume smoothly.

The primary issue affected applicants from the 76 newly added communities. Those from the pre-2010 list were unaffected, as a previous Calcutta High Court ruling permitted their participation. Mandal emphasized that reservation is a constitutional right, not a concession, and affirmed that the state has the authority to revise and implement its OBC list — a position now upheld by the apex court.

Retired Justice Ashim Kumar Banerjee, head of the State Backward Classes Commission which recommended the updated OBC list, said that while he had not yet reviewed the full court order, reports suggest that there are no remaining legal barriers. He reiterated that the High Court case focused on procedural aspects of the list's rollout, not the list itself, and expressed confidence that the 2025 OBC list can now be enforced.