Calcutta HC scraps all OBC certificates issued after 2010 in Bengal

Slamming the court's ruling, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the OBC reservation quota introduced by the West Bengal government will continue

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The Calcutta High Court has invalidated all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010.  

It struck down several classes as OBC under an Act of 2012 of West Bengal for reservation of vacancies in services and posts in the state, finding these illegal. The ruling directly impacts certificates issued during the tenure of the Trinamool Congress administration, led by Mamata Banerjee since 2011.

A panel of two judges, including Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha, pronounced the judgement in a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the methodology of issuing OBC certificates in West Bengal.

The bench directed that the executive orders classifying 42 classes made by the state from March 5, 2010 to May 11, 2012, were also quashed, with prospective effect, in view of the illegality of the reports recommending such classification.

The court also clarified that the services of citizens of the struck-down classes, who are already in service or have availed the benefit of reservation or have succeeded in any selection process of the state will not be affected by the order.

The bench said that the opinion and advice of the Backward Classes Commission is ordinarily binding on the state legislature under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.

It has instructed the Backward Classes Welfare Department of the state to consult the Commission in formulating a report for submission to the legislature, containing recommendations for the inclusion of new classes or the exclusion of remaining classes from the state’s OBC list.

Mamata Banerjee denounces verdict

Refuting the court’s decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee labelled it as a conspiracy orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She expressed her dissent stating, “The OBC reservation quota introduced by the West Bengal government will continue. We had drafted the Bill after conducting a house-to-house survey, and it was passed by the cabinet and the Assembly.”

Banerjee further accused the BJP of using central agencies to impede the implementation of the state’s OBC reservation policy. “How can the saffron party exhibit such audacity?” she questioned.

(With agency inputs)