'Will Not Accept Calcutta HC Order': Mamata Banerjee Hours After OBC Status Of Several Classes In Bengal Scrapped

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Wednesday that she "will not accept" the Calcutta High Court order that removed the OBC status of several classes in the state. Addressing a poll rally in Khardah, Dumdum Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee stated that OBC reservation will continue in the state because the relevant Bill was passed within the framework of the Constitution. "The West Bengal government's OBC reservation quota will continue. "We drafted the Bill after conducting a house-to-house survey, and it was approved by the cabinet and the assembly," she explained. "The BJP conspired to stymie it by utilising central agencies. "How can the saffron party show such audacity?" the TMC chief asked.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday overturned the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal, ruling that such reservations under a 2012 Act to fill vacancies in state services and posts were illegal.

Calcutta HC Scraps OBC Status Of Several Classes In Bengal

Passing judgement on petitions challenging the provisions of the Act, the court clarified that the order will have no effect on the services of citizens of the struck-down classes who are already in service, have benefited from reservation, or have successfully completed any state selection process. According to a lawyer involved in the case, the judgement will have a significant impact on many people in the state.

The court overturned several Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations granted under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012.

The bench ordered that the state's executive orders classifying 42 classes as OBCs from March 5, 2010, to May 11, 2012, be quashed with prospective effect, citing the illegality of the reports recommending such classifications. The bench stated that the Backward Classes Commission's opinion and advice are normally binding on the state legislature under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993.

The bench directed the state's Backward Classes Welfare Department, in consultation with the Commission, to submit a report to the legislature with recommendations for the inclusion of new classes or the exclusion of existing classes from the state's OBC list.