Kolkata: Decks have been cleared for the publication of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board (WBJEE) results following the Supreme Court's July 28 order staying the Calcutta High Court's earlier decision that halted the implementation of a revised list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) notified by the state government, a senior higher education department official said on Wednesday.

“We in the higher education department had already anticipated this and are fully prepared to take appropriate actions immediately,” state Education Minister Bratya Basu said shortly after the apex court's order.

When asked about the timeline for result publication, WBJEE Board chairperson Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee remained cautious but optimistic.

“Today (July 30), we received the state government directive. We shall implement the directive and let you know about our decision tomorrow (July 31),” she told PTI.

A senior education official confirmed that steps have been taken to publish the results soon. “We have consulted legal experts, and every step has been taken to accommodate candidates' interests. The results will be out soon,” he said.

Before the Supreme Court's directive, Banerjee had said the results were ready for release by July 5 but had to be withheld due to legal developments, making the matter sub judice. “We were waiting for the government's directive,” she had noted.

The WBJEE exam was conducted on April 27.

On July 28, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria vacated the Calcutta High Court's stay on the state's revised OBC policy. The bench said, “Prima facie, the high court order seems to be erroneous.”

On June 17, the Calcutta High Court had issued an interim stay on state government notifications concerning reservations to 140 subsections under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories.

The Supreme Court bench, while hearing senior advocate Kapil Sibal on behalf of the West Bengal government, expressed surprise at the High Court's action. “This is surprising. How can the high court pass such an order? Reservation is part of the executive function,” the court observed.

The revised OBC list had been prepared after the High Court, in May 2024, quashed the inclusion of 77 communities in the previous OBC list.