📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Indrajit Das
Politics
Calcutta HC Dismisses Bengal OBC Category, Rejects Mamata‑era Certificates
✍️ The New Indian Express
🗓 13 Aug 2026, 03:38 PM
👁 5
The Calcutta High Court has annulled the West Bengal government’s OBC categorisation and rejected certificates issued under Mamata Banerjee’s administration, ruling that the categorisation was invalid.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday struck down the West Bengal government’s Order No. 11/2016, which had created a separate OBC category for the state. The court also rejected the certificates issued under the order, declaring them void. The ruling was delivered by Justice S. N. Sharma in a 2‑judge bench.
The order had been issued during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure to provide reservation benefits to a larger group of backward classes. Critics argued that the categorisation was based on unverified data and lacked a transparent methodology.
In its judgment, the court highlighted procedural lapses, noting that the government failed to conduct a comprehensive survey and did not publish the list of beneficiaries. It also pointed out that the order contradicted the central government’s guidelines on OBC classification.
The decision means that individuals who had received certificates under the Mamata‑era order will have to seek re‑verification. The government has said it will appeal the ruling and may revise the categorisation if it finds the process flawed.
The order had been issued during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure to provide reservation benefits to a larger group of backward classes. Critics argued that the categorisation was based on unverified data and lacked a transparent methodology.
In its judgment, the court highlighted procedural lapses, noting that the government failed to conduct a comprehensive survey and did not publish the list of beneficiaries. It also pointed out that the order contradicted the central government’s guidelines on OBC classification.
The decision means that individuals who had received certificates under the Mamata‑era order will have to seek re‑verification. The government has said it will appeal the ruling and may revise the categorisation if it finds the process flawed.