The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday nullified all Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal post-2010.
This decision, made by a division bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, invalidates all OBC certificates distributed by the Trinamool Congress administration, which has been in power since 2011.
This judgment has rendered more than 500,000 OBC certificates issued since 2010 invalid for the purpose of job reservation.
However, the court clarified that people who have been able to secure employment with the help of these certificates shall not be affected by the judgment.
The court noted that the certificates issued after 2010 were not compliant with the required legal procedures, which is why they have been annulled.
The bench stated that the state Assembly is now tasked with determining the eligibility criteria for OBC certificates. Furthermore, the West Bengal Backward Class Commission is to establish the list of castes eligible for OBC classification.
According to the established procedure, the Commission proposes the list, which is then submitted to the state Assembly for final approval.
Historically, there have been numerous complaints about irregularities in the issuance of OBC certificates in West Bengal. These irregularities have resulted in many eligible individuals being denied certificates while several ineligible candidates were included.
Read Also | Freedom of speech is at stake in Bengal: says PM Modi
Read Also | Bengal Governor Offers Public Access to Raj Bhavan CCTV, Excludes CM and Police
