The Calcutta High Court made a significant ruling on Wednesday, dismissing all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010. The verdict was delivered by a division bench consisting of Justice Tapabrata Chakrabirty and Rajasekhar Mantha, who were addressing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that questioned the process of granting OBC certificates.
As per the court’s directive, a fresh list of OBCs will be prepared based on the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993 by the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes. The high court bench declared the OBC list created after 2010 as ‘illegal’.
Additionally, the court declared certain sections and schedules of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012 as ‘unconstitutional’.
Advocate Sudipta Dasgupta, representing the PIL, stated that the OBC certificates issued after 2010 bypassed the 1993 Act, depriving genuinely backward individuals of their rightful certificates. The Division Bench’s decision nullifies all OBC certificates issued after 2010, while those with OBC certificates before 2010 will not be affected by the Calcutta HC’s ruling.
Consequently, all OBC certificates issued between 2010 and 2024 have been invalidated, and individuals will no longer be able to avail the benefits provided to certificate holders under various schemes.
However, the court clarified that the order will not impact individuals from the affected classes who are already employed, have benefited from reservation policies, or have successfully completed any state selection process.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that there was no interference with the state government’s executive orders classifying 66 classes of OBCs before 2010, as these were not challenged in the petitions.
In response to the recent developments, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, expressed her refusal to comply with the high court’s ruling and criticized the BJP.
“We will not adhere to the directives of the BJP. The OBC reservation will remain intact. It is quite audacious of them. This is a tainted chapter in the nation – I am not responsible for this. Upen Biswas was the one who initiated it,” she stated.
“Surveys were conducted prior to the implementation of the OBC reservation. Legal actions were taken in the past, but no concrete results were achieved. Why don’t they discuss the policies in states governed by the BJP?” questioned the Chief Minister.
Furthermore, the leader of the Trinamool Congress alleged that the Prime Minister (Modi) has been spreading rumors about how minority groups will undermine the Tapashili reservation, potentially leading to a constitutional crisis.
“Minorities will never encroach upon the Tapashili or Adivasi reservation. However, these deceitful individuals (BJP) manage to accomplish their objectives through various agencies,” Mamata Banerjee asserted.