Cal HC scraps OBC status of several classes will not accept it says Mamata

    Kolkata, May 22 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday struck down as illegal the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, sparking a political debate in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections.
    The court observed that inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to “treat them as vote bank”.
    Reacting sharply, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee asserted that she “will not accept” the order and will challenge it in a higher court.
    The BJP, on the other hand, welcomed the court order claiming it has exposed the ploy of the “INDIA alliance parties to give reservation to Muslims under OBC sub-quota”.
    Passing judgment on petitions challenging the provisions of the Act, a division bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha said 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 number of enlisted persons under OBC in West Bengal after 2010 is likely to be above five lakhs, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners said.

    The CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in West Bengal till May 2011 and thereafter the Trinamool Congress government took over.
    The court scrapped 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.
    The bench directed that the state's executive orders classifying several other classes as OBCs from March 5, 2010, to May 11, 2012, were also quashed, in view of the illegality of the reports recommending such classification.
    "Religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion" for declaring these communities as OBCs, the court said, adding that it "is of the view that the selection of 77 classes of Muslims as backwards is an affront to the Muslim community as a whole."
    Maintaining that this court’s mind is not free from doubt that "the said community (Muslims) has been treated as a commodity for political ends," the bench said, "This is clear from the chain of events that led to the classification of the 77 classes as OBCs and their inclusion to be treated as a vote bank."
    Setting aside a provision in the Act of 2012 for the distribution of percentage of reservation to the sub-classified classes, the court said, "sub-classified classes listed in two categories, namely OBC-A and OBC-B, are struck down from schedule 1 of the Act of 2012."
    The court directed the Backward Classes Welfare Department of the state, in consultation with the Commission, to place a report before the legislature with recommendations for the inclusion of new classes or for the exclusion of remaining classes in the state list of OBCs.
    Concurring with the judgment penned by Justice Mantha, Justice Chakraborty observed, "The concept of equality of opportunity in public employment concerns an individual, whether that individual belongs to the general category or backward class."
    The verdict triggered a political slugfest with Banerjee hinting that the order was passed as per the BJP's instructions amid the elections and the BJP claiming that the order has exposed the INDIA alliance parties using reservation as a handle to serve their vote bank.
    Addressing an election rally, Banerjee said, “We will not accept the Calcutta High Court order and will move to a higher court challenging it. The OBC reservation quota introduced by the West Bengal government will continue. We had drafted the Bill after conducting a house-to-house survey, and it was passed by the cabinet and the assembly.”
    The TMC boss accused the BJP of conspiring to stall the OBC quota by using central agencies.
"Some people have gone to the court, moved a petition to sabotage the interest of OBCs and then this development takes place. How can the saffron party show such audacity?” she said.
    This happened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the opposition INDIA bloc if voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections, would scrap the quotas of the SC, ST and OBC people, Banerjee said.
She said, “SC, ST, and OBC get the rights as per the Constitution. Minorities also have their rights. Can anyone say that he will frame legislation only for the benefit of Hindus and leave out Muslims and other communities?"
    BJP national president J P Nadda, while addressing a programme here, welcomed the high court order by stating that it has justifiably invalidated OBC certificates which were given out based on religion.
    “Under the garb of OBC quota, Mamata Banerjee had put in effect Muslim reservation," he said.
    Criticizing Banerjee for her remarks against the court order, Nadda wondered, “What kind of chief minister Bengal has, that has no respect for the Constitution? I may sound a bit harsh but I say she is following the Muslim league agenda.”
    Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya, who was co-in charge of Bengal, in a post on X, said, “Stung by Calcutta High Court’s order scrapping Muslim reservation under OBC sub-quota, Mamata Banerjee, it seems has decided to precipitate a Constitutional crisis.”
    “She refuses to accept the verdict and attacks the judges of the High Court. Calls it a ‘BJP order’ and vows that the reservation will continue. She can challenge the order in the Supreme Court but for her to brazen it out shows her anti-OBC mindset," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)