The Supreme Court has observed that "reservation cannot be on the basis of religion" as it heard pleas related to the Calcutta High Court's decision on the state's OBC reservation system. The high court had struck down the OBC status given to several Muslim castes in West Bengal since 2010, raising the legality of religious-based reservations.

In May 2022, the Calcutta High Court declared that the West Bengal government’s reservation policy for certain Muslim castes was illegal. The court found that religion appeared to be the main criterion for granting these communities OBC status, which led to the decision to revoke the benefits. Specifically, the high court struck down the OBC status for 77 Muslim communities, affecting public sector jobs and educational opportunities.

In its judgment, the high court said, "Religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion for declaring these communities as OBCs." The judgment further said that choosing 77 Muslim communities as backward was an "affront" to the Muslim community as a whole. However, it clarified that those who had already benefited from these reservations would not be impacted.

The case came up before the Supreme Court bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan on Monday. Justice Gavai said, "Reservation cannot be on the basis of religion," That has been one of the crucial things in the case. 

Representing the West Bengal government, senior advocate Kapil Sibal opposed that. According to him, reservations were made based on backwardness, not religion. Sibal said, "This is not on the basis of religion. This is on the basis of backwardness."

He was concerned that the high court judgment would hamper the future prospects of thousands of students and job aspirants. Sibal urged the bench to pass an interim order restraining the operation of the judgment pronounced by the high court, contending that the stay of judgment would be appropriate in this case due to the very serious issues involved.

Why is this case important?

The case has started up debates on the criteria for providing reservations in India. An important question at the heart of this issue is whether reservations by religion are legal or if religious communities can be allowed under OBC status. Moreover, the court ruling raises questions on whether religious communities can be included in the OBC list. Many of those people are asking how such decisions would affect reservation policies in India.

The Supreme Court has decided to continue hearing the matter and will review the detailed submissions from all parties involved on January 7. During the hearing, the top court will also probe the state's efforts to justify its decision to include some Muslim castes in the OBC list and consultations held before granting this status.

In its August 5 hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the state government to provide data on the social and economic backwardness of these communities and their representation in public sector jobs. It also called for details about the consultations conducted with the state's backward classes panel before the decision.