The Kolkata High Court on Wednesday invalidated all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010, declaring the new list of OBCs would be tabulated based on the West Bengal Backward Classes Act of 1993. A division bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajashekhar Mantha delivered the ruling on a public interest litigation challenging the process of granting OBC certificates.
What does the court order entail?
The Kolkata High Court on Wednesday struck down the OBC status for several categories in West Bengal, finding the reservations under an act of 2012 for state job vacancies to be unlawful. The verdict came on petitions challenging the Act's provisions and clarified that members of categories whose OBC status has been removed would not be affected by this decision if they are already in service, have availed benefits of reservation, or have succeeded in any selection process of the state.
The Court also excluded the categories from the concerned lists per the West Bengal Backward Classes (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.
Judges Chakraborty and Mantha clarified that the state government's executive orders classifying 66 categories as OBC before 2010 weren't interfered with as they were not challenged in the petitions. They directed that executive orders classifying 42 categories as OBC between March 5, 2010, and May 11, 2012, are also annulled.
The bench noted that the advice and recommendation of the Backward Classes Commission is generally binding for the state legislature under the National Backward Classes Commission Act, 1993, and directed the state's Backward Classes Welfare Department to present a report with the Commission's recommendations to include new categories or exclude the remaining ones in the state's OBC list to the legislature.
Decision could lead to 'constitutional breakdown': Mamata
Following the High Court's decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stated her refusal to accept the High Court's order on OBC reservation. Mamata expressed her concerns saying, 'I have heard that a judge passed an order which was already well-known. This decision will lead to a constitutional breakdown.' Pointing towards the BJP, she suggested that 'these mischievous people (BJP) get their work done through agencies.'
She reiterated her disapproval, 'I do not accept the court's order. When 26,000 jobs were lost due to BJP's actions, I said I would not accept it. Similarly, I am saying today that I do not accept today's order.' She concluded with a strong statement indicating her readiness to challenge the order.
'This is a disgraceful chapter in the country'
On the High Court's order, the Chief Minister commented that they would not accept BJP's mandate and OBC reservations shall continue. Mamata criticized the BJP's audacity and labeled it as a disgraceful chapter in the nation. She cited the role of Upen Biswas, who served as the Minister of Backward Class Welfare in her administration from 2011 to 2016, and who had resigned from the Trinamool Congress in 2021. She asserted that OBC reservation was implemented after a detailed survey and despite previous cases being filed, no outcome was reached.
Attacking the BJP, the Chief Minister asked why the party does not discuss its own state policies and suggested scrutinizing the states under BJP governance. She pointed out that OBC reservation was passed by the cabinet, the legislature and even had a court decision. Banerjee accused the BJP of playing games before elections, intending to play a 'one-day match' to pursue their corruption for five years. 'I have received the order. Now I will play,' she vowed.
Case filed in 2012
The matter that led to Wednesday's order by the High Court was filed in 2012. Advocates representing the plaintiffs, Sudipta Dasgupta, and Vikram Banerjee stated in court that in 2010, the Left Front government created the 'Other Backward Class' based on an interim report, termed 'OBC-A.' However, once the Left Front lost power and Trinamool came into government in 2011, a list was created and legislation enacted without a final report, leading to the filing of a case against the Trinamool government.
In the 2012 case, the plaintiffs petitioned the court for the immediate dismissal of the law, arguing that the Trinamool government's decision went against the West Bengal Backward Classes Welfare Commission Act, 1993, depriving genuinely backward people of government opportunities. Therefore, the government should issue certificates as per that law. After nearly 12 years, the High Court delivered its order.
Statement from the Chairman of the NCBC Commission
The Chairman of the NCBC Commission, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, responded to the court's decision, remarking that the High Court's verdict, which nullifies OBC certificates issued after 2010, is consistent with the findings of the OBC Commission. 'This issue had come before our commission. We reviewed it in February 2023 and observed that in 2011, 65 Muslim castes and 6 Hindu castes were added to OBCs. We had requested the report on the basis of which the government included them. Since then, we haven't received the latest report.' He stated, 'The court's decision is correct, the original OBC rights were usurped, and the High Court's verdict proves it.'
SC halts Kolkata HC's order to cancel Bengal teacher recruitment
The Supreme Court provided relief to Mamata's government earlier this month concerning the teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal. The Supreme Court stayed the Kolkata High Court's order to cancel teacher recruitment in Bengal, with the Apex court stating that cancelling all appointments outright seemed unwise. It stressed the need to differentiate between legal and illegal appointments, leaving the methods to be determined by the state government. The Supreme Court specified that only those candidates whose appointments were deemed illegal must return their salaries.
