Calcutta High Court Invalidates OBC Classification Under 2012 Act

The Calcutta High Court has invalidated several OBC classes under the 2012 West Bengal Act for reservation in state services, citing illegality. The court ensured that current beneficiaries remain unaffected. The state must now work with the Backward Classes Commission to reassess and recommend new classifications.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday struck down several classes as Other Backward Classes (OBC) under an Act of 2012 of West Bengal for reservation of vacancies in services and posts in the state, finding these illegal.

Passing judgement on petitions challenging the provisions of the Act, the court clarified that the services of citizens of the struck down classes, who are already in service or have availed the benefit of reservation or have succeeded in any selection process of the state will not be affected by the order.

The court struck down several classes for reservation as Other Backward Classes (OBC) given under The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.

In the judgement, the division bench comprising justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha clarified that the executive orders of the state government classifying 66 classes of OBC before 2010 were not interfered with, since these were not challenged in the petitions.

The bench directed that the executive orders classifying 42 classes made by the state from March 5, 2010 till May 11, 2012, were also quashed, with prospective effect, in view of the illegality of the reports recommending such classification.

The bench said that the opinion and advice of the Backward Classes Commission is ordinarily binding on the state legislature under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.

The bench directed the Backward Classes Welfare Department of the state, in consultation with the Commission, to place a report before the legislature with recommendations of inclusion of new classes or for exclusion of remaining classes in the state list of OBCs.

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