The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday imposed an interim stay on the West Bengal government’s recent executive notifications granting reservation benefits to 140 subsections under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories.

The division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha directed that notifications issued between May 8 and June 13 regarding OBC classifications will remain suspended until July 31. The court also stayed all consequential actions arising from these notifications during the same period.

The order was passed while hearing a PIL challenging the state's new benchmark surveys used to determine inclusion under OBC categories. The court directed all parties to file affidavits detailing their positions on the matter.

According to the state, 49 groups were added under OBC-A and 91 under OBC-B, classifying them based on levels of social and economic backwardness.

Notably, in May 2024, the High Court had struck down the OBC status of several communities included since 2010, terming those reservations illegal. That judgment annulled 77 classes added between April and September 2010, and 37 more listed under the West Bengal Reservation Act, 2012.

The state government has since challenged the May ruling in the Supreme Court, where the matter remains pending.