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The state is set to move the Supreme Court, specifically the bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, on Monday to seek clearance for implementing its 2025 OBC list, which proposes 17% reservation in ongoing admission and recruitment drives.
A Calcutta High Court ruling on Thursday halted all admissions and appointments across Bengal, including the release of WBJEE merit lists and centralized undergraduate admission updates. This came despite the apex court earlier lifting a stay on the same OBC list, which includes 140 sub-groups across OBC-A and OBC-B categories.
"We hadn’t expected such an order from the High Court, especially after the SC ruling. We are taking the matter back to the Supreme Court regarding WBJEE," state higher education minister Bratya Basu told reporters on Friday. "The situation has become more complicated, but will be resolved soon. CAP notifications will be released shortly."
A senior government lawyer noted that the High Court’s stay was issued in a case originally related to the 2024 medical postgraduate entrance exams, yet its effect has spilled over to WBJEE 2025. The state is expected to question whether the single-judge bench had grounds to pass such an order while the case remains active before the top court.
The uncertainty around the OBC list has delayed results and admissions for WBJEE, Presidency University, and several colleges under Calcutta University. WBJEE was held on April 27, while Presidency's UG entrance tests took place on June 21 and 22. The centralized admission portal (CAP) went live on June 18, but the merit list release remains on hold, even as national-level entrance exam results have already been declared.
"This has made things very stressful," said one WBJEE candidate. "I’ve secured admission in private engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu and Odisha, but I’m hoping to study at JU. If I miss out on JEE and the private options close, I’ll be stuck."
Sarthak Ray, another aspirant, shared similar concerns: "JU is my first choice, but this delay is forcing me to reconsider. I’d prefer to stay in Kolkata, but the uncertainty is growing."
Rishabh Banerjee, who applied through the centralized portal, said, "Some of my friends who opted for private colleges or moved to other states have already started classes. We don’t even know when our merit list will come out."
