Kolkata: Undergraduate (UG) admissions in government and state-aided colleges and universities across Bengal, including Jadavpur University (JU) and Calcutta University (CU), have been put on hold due to legal uncertainty over OBC reservations, with the matter currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The deadlock follows a Calcutta High Court ruling in May 2024 that struck down the OBC status of 77 communities. The state government has challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, with the case likely to be heard in July. JU had earlier decided to begin the admission process for UG science and arts courses without including OBC reservations by issuing admission notifications on Monday. However, it later rolled back the decision following protests from the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), objecting the lack of OBC mention in the admission notice for the Bachelor of Library and Information Science (B.L.I.Sc) programme.
The university had opened applications for the B.L.I.Sc course for the 2025-26 academic session, with the deadline set for May 31. However, after a meeting on Monday, the admission committee resolved to suspend all undergraduate admissions and seek legal opinion. The university also decided to seek guidance from the Higher Education and Backward Classes Welfare (BCW) Departments. Subsequently, the dean of arts issued a notice withdrawing the B.L.I.Sc admission notification.
JU had previously written to the BCW department asking for clarity on reservation rules. In its response on May 16, the department referred to the High Court’s ruling and the state’s pending Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, and other ongoing legal battle, advising the university to seek legal opinion from competent authorities.
Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) raised concerns over the delay. “Despite repeated queries about the OBC issue, neither the Higher Education department nor the BCW department is offering any clarity. It appears the government is deliberately delaying admissions in state-run institutions to benefit private ones,” said general secretary Partha Pratim Roy.
CU has also sought clarification from the BCW department and is awaiting a response. “We have written to the BCW department.
We will hold a faculty council meeting on Tuesday to decide how to proceed if no response is received,” said CU registrar Debashis Das. Meanwhile, private and minority colleges have already begun their admission processes.
However, the state’s centralised undergraduate admission portal has yet to open. Sources in the Higher Education department said that legal advice has been sought from the Advocate-General on how to proceed with the reservation issue amid ongoing litigation.