Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday cancelled all Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued under the new rules in West Bengal during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.
A division bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Anuj Singh also ruled that the state will no longer have two separate OBC categories “OBC-A” and “OBC-B” introduced during the previous government.
The bench said OBC certificates issued under these two categories would no longer be valid and that holders of such certificates would henceforth be treated as belonging to the “general” category.
After 2010, the OBC community in West Bengal was divided into two categories, OBC-A and OBC-B. The issuance of OBC certificates during the Trinamool Congress government later became controversial, with allegations of irregularities and corruption in the process.
In 2024, the Calcutta High Court excluded 66 communities from the state’s OBC list in a case concerning the certificates and cancelled their OBC status. The court subsequently ordered a fresh survey to prepare a revised list.
The then Mamata Banerjee-led state government challenged the order before the Supreme Court, but the apex court upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, the state government conducted a fresh survey and made changes to the OBC-A and OBC-B lists. The Calcutta High Court subsequently raised objections to the revised exercise.
It was alleged that the survey was conducted using only 2,500 samples and that a new list was prepared on that basis. A total of 142 communities were subsequently included in the OBC list.
After the Calcutta High Court objected to the revised list, the state government again approached the Supreme Court. However, the apex court did not grant a stay in the matter.
As a result, the issuance of OBC certificates continued under the new rules. The Calcutta High Court has now cancelled the certificates issued under those rules in light of the changed circumstances.