Calcutta HC cancels OBC certificates issued in Bengal post 2010; Mamata hits back

Individuals who were included in the OBC list before 2010 will remain unaffected.

The Calcutta High Court, on May 22, cancelled all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010.

According to the court, the list of backward classes should be prepared based on the new Act of 1993 by the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission, as per an ANI report.

Individuals who were included in the OBC list before 2010 will remain unaffected. However, those added to the OBC list after 2010 will have their nominations cancelled, states the report. Importantly, those who have secured jobs under the OBC quota or are in the process of obtaining them after 2010 will not lose their positions, and their jobs will remain unaffected.

Shortly after, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she would not accept the Calcutta HC's decision to scrap the OBC status of several classes in the state.

Speaking at a poll rally in Khardah under the Dumdum Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee stated that OBC reservations will continue in the state, asserting that the relevant Bill was passed within the constitutional framework.

"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," stated the Bengal CM.

She also accused the BJP of conspiring to obstruct the reservations by using central agencies, questioning their audacity to interfere.