Calcutta HC division bench refuses to interfere with single-judge WBJEE result order

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court in a hearing on Thursday (August 21, 2025) refused to interfere with an earlier single-judge order that directed the State to prepare a new merit list and publish the results of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination by August 22, providing 7% reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates recognised pre-2010.

The Calcutta High Court in May 2024 had struck down all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010. The matter surrounding revisions in the State government’s OBC list is currently pending with the Supreme Court.

The declaration of results of WBJEE, an entrance exam for undergraduate engineering, technology, architecture, and pharmacy courses in West Bengal’s State-run and State-aided universities, have been inordinately delayed this year since it was conducted on April 27 this year.

“The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board shall recast the merit list and publish a fresh panel, providing 7% reservation for the 66 classes of O.B.C. candidates as recognised by the West Bengal Backward Classes Department prior to 2010,” a single judge bench of Justice Kausik Chanda had said in its order on August 7.

The court had also directed the government to complete the aforementioned exercise and release the revised merit list within a period of 15 days from the date of the order, that is by August 22.

The division bench of Justices Sujoy Paul and Smita Das De refused to interfere in the order passed by Justice Chanda on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the WBJEE Board issued a circular on August 18 directing candidates to mention their caste/tribe/community names and upload their Scheduled Caste, Schedule Tribes and OBC certificates on the official website. The window to do so closed on Thursday.

The delay in WBJEE results led to protests in political circles, with the Leader of Opposition of the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari warning on August 18 that Bharatiya Janata Party legislators will hold dharnas outside the Education Department headquarters if the results are not published by this week.

“We want the results to be out as soon as possible. We also believe that authorities have not given this issue enough importance. The only thing of consequence which has happened after prolonged legal battles is the delay in our results, which has caused considerable anxiety in us,” 17-year-old engineering aspirant Shithan Roy told The Hindu.

He added that many who are waiting for the results are struggling mentally due to the uncertainty. “We feel unheard and uncared for,” Mr. Roy said.