The Calcutta High Court said its earlier stay on OBC reservations to 114 classes has been revived as the current West Bengal government has withdrawn the previous dispensation's special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the order.
OBC-A certificate declared invalid
The court, while declaring void the OBC-A certificate of a person, held that the petitioner and other persons, who participated in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) claiming to be OBCs under the central list must be treated as general category candidates.
It said the state or the appropriate competent authority concerned may take appropriate steps in the interest of students from West Bengal claiming to be OBCs under classes pre-existing 2010 participating in national and state tests.
Holding that this should not be treated as any specific direction to the state, the bench said, "It is left entirely to the discretion of the state, to avoid any inconvenience to anyone in competitive examination held for the current year."
A division bench presided over by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha held that the petitioner herein had obtained an OBC-A certificate on April 13, 2026, under the notifications of May and June, 2025 that are "void ab initio".
"The certificate of the petitioner dated April 13, 2026, is, therefore, invalid for having been obtained under a void executive order," the court said in an order passed on Wednesday.
114 classes affected by court order
The division bench, also comprising Justice Anuj Singh, clarified that all OBC certificates issued by the state between May 8, 2025 and June 12, 2025 and those certificates that were issued between June 10, 2025 and May 18, 2026 would also be void.
"Persons falling within the OBC category under the classes existing prior to 2010 would have to apply afresh for certification as OBC", if they fall within the 66 classes that were allowed by another bench of the high court in May, 2024.
The court clarified that the re-declaration of 77 and 37 classes (114 in all) as OBC, by the state cabinet in May, 2025 and June, 2025 did not have the force or authority of law and was void ab initio after the new dispensation withdrew a challenge to a high court order staying such notifications on June 17, 2025 before the Supreme Court.
State's SLP withdrawal revives 2025 stay
The apex court had stayed the high court's June 17, 2025 order.
The new dispensation in the state government withdrew all the aforesaid special leave petitions challenging both the original judgment and order dated May 22, 2024 and stay of the new notifications on June 17, 2025, the division bench noted.
"This withdrawal had the effect of extinguishing the order dated July 20, 2025 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and consequently reviving this court's order dated 17th June, 2025," the bench said.
What the May 2024 judgment said
The high court had on June 17, 2025, stayed all notifications issued by the West Bengal government with regard to reservations under OBC A and OBC B categories made by it vide a notification of June 13.
The high court had in May, 2024 struck down the Other Backward Classes (OBC) status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, finding such reservations to vacancies in services and posts in the state are illegal.
The court struck down 77 classes of reservation given between April 2010 and September 2010, and 37 classes created based on the state's reservation Act of 2012.
In the May, 2024 judgement, a division bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha had clarified that the executive orders of the state government classifying 66 classes of OBC before 2010 were not interfered with, as these were not challenged in the petitions.