Supreme Court Issues Notice on Plea Challenging Calcutta HC Judgment Invalidating Bengal OBC Certificates
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on a plea challenging the Calcutta High Court judgment that declared certain Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal during 2025 and 2026 invalid.
A bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing petitions filed by candidates who participated in the 2024 recruitment process for constables in the West Bengal Police. The petitioners have challenged the consequences of the High Court’s August 12, 2026 judgment.
The Supreme Court also directed that appointments arising from the recruitment process would remain subject to the final outcome of the proceedings. The court directed that this condition must be clearly mentioned in the appointment letters issued to newly recruited candidates.
During the hearing, senior advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the petitioners, requested that the relevant posts be kept vacant until the dispute was resolved. The bench declined to halt the recruitment process, with Justice Bagchi observing that state recruitment could not simply be stopped.
The petitioners subsequently sought clarification that any appointments would remain subject to the outcome of their challenge. The court accepted this position and directed that the appropriate condition be incorporated into appointment letters.
The dispute stems from a series of judgments concerning West Bengal’s OBC classification and reservation system. In May 2024, the Calcutta High Court struck down the inclusion of several communities in the state’s OBC list and directed the state to undertake a fresh exercise for identifying eligible communities.
The West Bengal government subsequently issued notifications in May and June 2025 introducing or re-declaring OBC classes. Certificates were issued under that framework, including OBC-A and OBC-B certificates.
However, after subsequent legal and administrative developments, the state withdrew its challenge before the Supreme Court against the earlier High Court ruling. The state also withdrew its challenge concerning a related High Court order.
In its August 2026 judgment, the Calcutta High Court held that the state government’s 2025 re-declaration of OBC classes was void from the beginning. It consequently held that OBC certificates issued during specified periods between May 2025 and May 2026 had no legal effect.
The High Court’s ruling created particular difficulties for candidates who had obtained OBC certificates and participated in recruitment processes on that basis. The present petitioners argue that they entered the recruitment process when the relevant certificates and reservation framework were operational and that subsequent changes should not retrospectively affect their candidature.
According to the petitioners, they had progressed through most of the recruitment process between 2024 and 2026 as OBC-A or OBC-B candidates, with their certificates accepted during the process. They contend that changing the applicable reservation position after candidates had already applied could adversely affect their selection.
The petitioners have also argued that the High Court’s 2024 judgment came after the application window for the police recruitment had closed. Their case is that subsequent developments concerning the state’s OBC list should not retrospectively alter the conditions under which they entered the selection process.
The Supreme Court has ordered that the petitions be heard along with connected matters. The latest order does not finally decide the validity of the disputed OBC certificates or overturn the Calcutta High Court judgment.
The proceedings could have wider implications for candidates who obtained OBC certificates under the 2025-26 framework and subsequently participated in government recruitment or other processes where OBC reservation was applicable. The Supreme Court’s final decision will determine how the disputed certificates and the affected recruitment processes are to be treated.
