The West Bengal government and the State Backward Classes Commission withdrew their Supreme Court petitions against a Calcutta High Court ruling that struck down the inclusion of 77 castes in the State Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. The withdrawal matters because it affects the legal status of communities previously covered by reservation and keeps the dispute open for other litigants.

The withdrawn challenge related to a High Court decision that invalidated the inclusion of 77 castes, including 75 Muslim communities, in the State OBC list. The issue sits at the intersection of reservation policy, caste-based classification, and judicial review of state action.

According to the brief, the Solicitor General informed the Supreme Court that the Cabinet had decided to withdraw the appeal. The Bench allowed the withdrawals and clarified that other aggrieved parties could still challenge the High Court verdict.

The state government has discontinued religion-based categorisation and regularised 66 communities that are now eligible for 7% reservation under the revised system.

Why the issue matters for UPSC

The dispute is relevant to GS2 because it links reservation design, equality jurisprudence, and judicial review of executive classification. It is also useful for understanding how state-level backward class lists can become a subject of litigation when classification criteria are challenged.

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