WB SIR: OBC certificates issued after 2010 invalid for hearings:ECI

The Election Commission has issued a directive stating that Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued by the West Bengal government after 2010 will not be treated as valid supporting identity documents during hearings on claims and objections to the draft electoral roll in connection with the SIR. The move comes in the wake of a Calcutta High Court order dated December 24, 2025, which cancelled OBC certificates issued between 2010 and 2024 to 113 communities. The court found procedural irregularities in the classification process, ruling that the certificates lacked legal validity. While delivering the verdict, the division bench also ruled that those certificates should not be used for any purpose in the future.

Following the court’s decision, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal circulated instructions to all District Electoral Officers (DEOs), emphasising that such certificates could not be used in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Commission clarified that while individuals from OBC communities remained eligible voters, their post-2010 certificates could not serve as proof of identity or community status in electoral matters.The ECI had specified 13 documents as documentary evidence of identity proof. These include Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and OBC certificates.