Calcutta High Court Affirms WBJEE Order: Green Light for General Admissions, Gorkha Category Under Judicial Lens

In a significant development for aspiring engineering and medical students in West Bengal, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court has decisively refused to interfere with a single judge’s interim order concerning the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations (WBJEE) results and the subsequent admission process.

This decision means that admissions for general category candidates, based on the original merit list and available seats, are set to proceed, while a contentious 'Gorkha category' reservation remains under intense judicial scrutiny.

The saga began when a single judge, Justice Jay Sengupta, issued an interim order that became the focal point of the recent legal battle.

Justice Sengupta had not only directed that admissions for general category candidates be conducted strictly according to the original merit list and existing vacancies but also raised serious questions about the transparency of the entire counselling process. Crucially, the single judge called for the WBJEE Board and the State to submit detailed affidavits, specifically addressing concerns surrounding a purported 'Gorkha category' reservation, which petitioners alleged lacked proper statutory backing or clarity.

The State of West Bengal, feeling aggrieved by the single judge’s directive, subsequently appealed the order before the division bench, comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chatterjee.

The state's counsel argued that implementing new admissions at this stage, particularly under the single judge's order, could significantly disrupt the ongoing academic session and create logistical challenges for educational institutions.

However, the division bench, after careful deliberation, found no compelling reason to overturn the single judge’s core directives.

They firmly reiterated that "admission to general category candidates be given from the original merit list as per the counselling process that had taken place if there are available seats." This affirmation provides a clear path forward for thousands of general category students who had been awaiting clarity on their admission status.

Furthermore, the division bench maintained the single judge's imperative for a thorough investigation into the 'Gorkha category' issue.

The WBJEE Board and the state government are now mandated to furnish comprehensive affidavits, shedding light on the genesis, rationale, and implementation of this specific reservation. The petitioners' lawyers had vehemently argued that the single judge had indeed identified significant irregularities in the admission process, with the allocation of seats under the 'Gorkha category' being a primary point of contention.

The court's decision underscores its commitment to ensuring fairness, transparency, and adherence to established norms in the higher education admission process.

While general category admissions can now move forward, the spotlight remains firmly on the 'Gorkha category' reservations. The division bench has scheduled the next hearing for the matter concerning these reservations, signaling that the judicial oversight of this issue is far from over. Students, parents, and educational bodies will be closely watching as the court delves deeper into the intricacies of seat allocation and reservation policies in the coming weeks.