Calcutta HC cancels OBC certificates issued under TMC govt

The Calcutta High Court has cancelled all Other Backward Classes, or  OBC-A and OBC-B certificates issued under the revised rules introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal. In a judgement delivered on Wednesday, a division bench comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Anuj Singh said that the OBC-A and OBC-B classification no longer exists in the state. The court held that certificates issued under the earlier system have lost their validity. Those holding such certificates will now be treated as belonging to the general category, according to the judgement. 
The OBC controversy dates back to the period after 2010, when the then Trinamool Congress government divided OBC communities into two categories-OBC-A and OBC-B. Allegations of irregularities and corruption in the issuance of OBC certificates subsequently led to legal challenges. In 2024, the Calcutta High Court struck down the inclusion of 66 communities in the OBC list and cancelled the certificates issued to them. The court also directed the state government to conduct a fresh survey and prepare a new OBC list. 
The then state government challenged the order in the Supreme Court, but the apex court upheld the High Court’s decision. The latest High Court judgement is expected to have significant implications for the validity of OBC certificates issued under the earlier classification in West Bengal.