The Calcutta High Court has cancelled all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued under the OBC-A and OBC-B classifications introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.
A division bench comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Anuj Singh, while delivering its judgment on Wednesday, observed that the OBC-A and OBC-B classifications no longer exist in the state. Consequently, certificates issued under the earlier system have lost their legal validity. Holders of these certificates will now be treated as belonging to the general category.
The ruling marks a significant development in the long-running controversy surrounding the identification and reservation of OBC communities in West Bengal.
The issue dates back to 2010, when the then Trinamool Congress-led state government divided OBC communities into two categories—OBC-A and OBC-B—for the purpose of reservation and other benefits. The classification subsequently became the subject of legal challenges over the process through which several communities were included in the OBC list.
In 2024, the Calcutta High Court struck down the inclusion of 66 communities in the state's OBC list and directed the authorities to undertake a fresh survey to determine eligibility. The court's intervention raised questions over the validity of certificates issued under the earlier framework.
The matter underwent another major change after the BJP came to power in West Bengal in 2026. The new government abolished the OBC-A and OBC-B classification and introduced a single OBC category in the state.
The Suvendu Adhikari-led government also decided to withdraw the previous administration's challenge against the High Court's earlier order from the Supreme Court. With the legal challenge withdrawn and the earlier classification itself abolished, the legal foundation for certificates issued under the OBC-A and OBC-B system ceased to exist.
The latest High Court order follows from that changed legal and administrative position. By declaring the earlier certificates invalid, the court has effectively brought the previous OBC certification system to an end.
The judgment is likely to have implications for thousands of certificate holders who had obtained OBC-A or OBC-B certificates under the earlier framework. Their eligibility for reservation benefits will now have to be determined under the new single-category OBC system, subject to the applicable rules and procedures.
The decision also puts the spotlight on the need for a transparent and legally sustainable process for identifying backward communities. The controversy has highlighted the importance of ensuring that inclusion in reservation lists is supported by proper data, surveys and established legal procedures.
The West Bengal government will now face the task of implementing the new OBC framework while addressing the concerns of those whose earlier certificates have been rendered invalid by the court's ruling.
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