The results of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) will be announced on 7 August, nearly three months after the engineering entrance test was held on 27 April, officials said on Wednesday.
Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, chairperson of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board, confirmed the revised date, stating that the delay was caused by a legal dispute over the state’s OBC reservation policy. “We are hopeful of declaring the results on 7 August. The delay occurred as the OBC certificate matter was sub-judice,” she said. The delay stemmed from a Calcutta High Court order in May that put an interim stay on the West Bengal government’s 2010 notification recognising OBC status in higher education admissions. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which on Monday issued a partial stay on the High Court order, allowing state authorities to resume procedural activities.
In response, the state higher education department sought legal advice and instructed the Joint Entrance Board to proceed with results, pending final adjudication. The Board has also requested all candidates to update their caste certificates between 31 July and 2 August via the official portal. Approximately 1,00,000 students took the WBJEE for engineering courses across the state. The Board earlier intended to publish results by 5 June but had to suspend the process due to the legal uncertainty. On Tuesday, a division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justices Sujoy Paul and Smita Das Dey ordered the Board and the state government to declare results within a week. Failing that, they must file affidavits explaining the delay by 7 August. Earlier, SFI and other Left Front students unions staged agitation in College Street demanding immediate release of results.