Kolkata, 21 August (H.S.):

The legal tussle over the publication of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) results continued on Thursday, with the Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench making it clear that the directions issued by the Single Bench would remain in force.

During the hearing before Justice Sujoy Paul’s Division Bench, the Joint Entrance Board informed the court that it was fully prepared to release the results but was unable to do so due to the ongoing case. The court noted that the Single Bench had already ordered the timely publication of results, and therefore, there was no scope for issuing fresh directions.

The Division Bench further remarked that since the Board had already challenged the Single Bench order before the Supreme Court, it would refrain from intervening at this stage. However, the petitioner’s counsel urged the Bench to step in, citing the future of thousands of students at stake. The next hearing in the matter before the Division Bench is likely to take place on September 2, while the Supreme Court is also expected to take up the case next week.

It may be recalled that the WBJEE results were originally scheduled to be released on August 7. However, Justice Kaushik Chanda’s Single Bench had raised objections regarding the new OBC list. Referring to an earlier Division Bench order, the court had directed the Entrance Board to re-evaluate the OBC list, recognize certificates issued prior to 2010, and prepare the list based on the seven percent reservation quota. Following this, the state government approached the Supreme Court seeking relief.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh