The Calcutta High Court declared unconstitutional the West Bengal Backward Classes Act 2012 section 2h 56 and schedule I and III of section 16. However, the court does not strike down the scheduled caste & scheduled tribe and reservation vacancies in the services and posts section of the act. Some petitioners challenged the procedure of certificate generation. High Court declared that the OBC certificates issued after 2010 were illegal. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she won’t accept this order.
What is the issue with OBC Certificates?
In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court dismissed all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010. A division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha made this decision while addressing a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenged the process of granting OBC certificates. The court directed that a new list of OBCs should be created based on the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993.
The OBC list prepared after 2010 was “illegal.
According to the court, the OBC list prepared after 2010 was “illegal.”Furthermore, the court struck down sections 2H, 5, 6, and 16, along with Schedules I and III of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012, calling them “unconstitutional.”Advocate Sudipta Dasgupta explained that the PIL, filed in 2011, claimed that OBC certificates issued after 2010 bypassed the 1993 Act.
OBC Certificates issued before 2010 will not be affected
This meant that those truly from the backward classes were not given their due certificates. The court’s decision annulled all OBC certificates given out between 2010 and 2024. However, those who received their certificates before 2010 will not be affected. The court clarified that the order will not impact those already in service or who have benefited from reservations and succeeded in any state selection processes. Importantly, the court did not interfere with the state government’s orders classifying 66 OBC classes before 2010, as these were not challenged in the petitions.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly opposed the High Court’s Decision
Reacting to the verdict, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly opposed the high court’s order and accused the BJP of influencing the decision. She emphasised that OBC reservations would continue and criticised the BJP’s stance. Banerjee noted that surveys were conducted before implementing OBC reservations and questioned why similar issues were not raised in BJP-ruled states. She also mentioned that Prime Minister Modi had previously commented on the potential impact of minorities on Tapashili (Scheduled Castes) reservations, suggesting a constitutional crisis.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah agrees with the court’s verdict about OBC certificate abolition
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on the other hand, welcomed the high court’s decision. He accused Mamata Banerjee of trying to redistribute OBC reservations to Muslim castes without proper surveys. Shah condemned Banerjee’s refusal to accept the court’s order and questioned her commitment to the rule of law. This development has sparked a heated political debate in West Bengal, with both sides firmly defending their positions on the issue of OBC reservations.