Cal High Court cancels all OBC certificates issued after 2010

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday cancelled all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in Bengal after 2010. The Court clarified that it will not affect those citizens who have already availed the benefit of reservation or have succeeded in any selection process in the state.

The Court also struck down a clause in the 2012 Act allowing the inclusion of classes for OBC reservation by the state government through notification in the official gazette.

The Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenged the identification and classification of 77 classes as OBCs in the state. It was submitted that the 77 classes were declared OBC by seven executive orders issued between March 5, 2010, and May 11, 2012, by the state.

The petitioners also challenged the constitutional cires of some provisions of the West Bengal Backward Classes (Reservation in Posts) Act of 2012.

Reacting to the judgement, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale shared on his ‘X’ handle: “Very interesting fact about today’s OBC certificate cancellation verdict by Calcutta High Court. The judge who gave the verdict today is the same judge who gave blanket immunity in criminal cases to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari. A condition that’s probably never been seen before in India was imposed - that police need court’s prior permission before even filing an FIR against Suvendu even if he’s caught red-handed committing a crime. Today’s verdict also comes bang in the middle of Lok Sabha elections. Bottom line: the verdict of the people will say what needs to be said.”