The Supreme Court has put a stay on the Calcutta High Court's order that had stalled the implementation of West Bengal's revised list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, expressed their view that the High Court's order appeared to be "prima facie erroneous".

The Calcutta High Court had earlier put an interim stay on notifications issued by the West Bengal government regarding the revised OBC list. This High Court order has now been suspended by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's decision came while hearing an appeal filed by the West Bengal government challenging the High Court's ruling. The Supreme Court has issued a notice regarding a Special Leave Petition filed by the state government.

During the proceedings, Chief Justice Gavai questioned the High Court's reasoning that only the legislature could approve an OBC list. He emphasized that reservation is part of the executive functions, and executive instructions are sufficient for providing reservations, making legislation unnecessary. He also disagreed with the High Court's observation that the State was obligated to present survey reports and bills before the legislature for formal amendment under the 2012 Act governing backward class identification in West Bengal.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the State of West Bengal, urged the Supreme Court to stay the High Court's order, highlighting that numerous appointments and promotions were on hold because of the stay. He also mentioned that contempt petitions had been filed in the High Court due to the order.

Counsel for the respondents, Senior Advocates Ranjit Kumar and Guru Krishnakumar, opposed the suggestion to allow the High Court to decide the matter expeditiously before a new bench, and instead, chose to argue the issue directly before the Supreme Court. They argued that the new list was drawn up without adequate data and in violation of the procedure established by the State's own Act.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for the matter on August 4.