The Calcutta High Court, in a surprise move yesterday, cancelled 5 lakh OBC certificates issued by the West Bengal government since 2010, calling such reservations in jobs and services in the state illegal.
The court said “religion” seems to be the “sole criterion” for declaring these communities as OBCs. The court said 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”.
The court further said the Muslim community has been treated as a “commodity for political ends”. “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.”
The court also pointed out that those who have already the reservation or are in service or have or have succeeded in any selection process of the state, will not be affected by the order.
The court passed the judgment on petitions challenging the provisions of the state’s reservation Act of 2012 and reservations granted in 2010.
During that time, the Communist Party of India-Marxist was in power in West Bengal till 2011. Then, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress took over in the state.
The number of enlisted persons under the OBC category in West Bengal after 2010 is likely to be above 5 lakh.
What Does The Court Order Mean?
The high court struck down 77 classes of reservation given between April 2010 and September 2010, and 37 classes created based on the Act of 2012.
While the court scrapped the 77 classes for the illegality of reports recommending such classification, the other 37 classes were set aside for non-consultation of the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission.
The bench also struck down an executive order of May 11, 2012, creating several sub-classes.
In the 211-page judgement, the division bench comprising justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha clarified that the executive orders of the state government classifying 66 classes of OBC before 2010 were not interfered with, since these were not challenged in the petitions.
The court also struck down an executive order of September 2010 by which reservation for OBCs was increased from 7% to 17%, providing for 10% reservation for Category A and 7% for Category B, on the ground of non-consultation of the commission.
The bench said that an increase of 10% in the percentage of reservation was due to the subsequent inclusion of classes, made from the year 2010, which were set aside by it.
The court also struck down section 5(a) of the Act of 2012, which distributes 10% reservation and 7% to the sub-classified classes.
“Consequently, the sub-classified classes listed in the two categories namely OBC-A and OBC-B are struck down from Schedule I of the Act of 2012,” the court directed.
The bench said the opinion and advice of the Backward Classes Commission is ordinarily binding on the state legislature under provisions of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.
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 inclusion of new classes or for exclusion of remaining classes in the state list of OBCs.
There are 179 castes on the state list of OBC castes in West Bengal. According to Hansraj Ahir, Chairman of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), 118 castes are from the Muslim community. The states OBC list consists of two types: Category A and Category B. In Category A, there are a total of 81 communities, of which 73 are Muslims while just 8 are Hindus, as per Ahir. In Category B, there are a total of 98 communities, of which 45 are Muslims while 53 are Hindus.
Political Implications
The immediate effect of the order could be felt in the sixth phase of the West Bengal Lok Sabha Election on May 25 in Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur, Jhhargram and Medinipur constituencies.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she will not accept the Calcutta HC order on scrapping the OBC status of some classes in the state.
Addressing an election rally at Khardah under the Dumdum Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee said the OBC reservation would continue in the state, as the Bill concerned was passed within the framework of the Constitution. “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,” she said. “If necessary, we will move a higher court (against the order),” the TMC supremo said.
She accused the BJP of conspiring to cancel 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.
After its conspiracy in Sandeshkhali failed, the BJP is now plotting new conspiracies, she said. “For vote politics, for staying in power for five years, you (BJP) are doing all these things,” Ms. Banerjee 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, she said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the HC order a “tight slap” to the Opposition, and alleged INDIA bloc’s obsession with appeasement.
During an election rally in Dwarka in Delhi on May 22, PM Modi said every time he utters the word ‘Muslim’, he is accused of making communal statements and asserted that he is only “exposing” the opposition “by stating facts”.
“Just today, the Calcutta High Court has given a big slap to this INDI alliance. The court has cancelled all OBC certificates issued since 2010. Why? Because the West Bengal government issued unwarranted OBC certificates to Muslims just because of the vote bank”.
What National Commission for Backward Classes Had Said
The NCBC had said last week that West Bengal and Punjab governments have not fully used the under 50% cap for reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBC). It had asked both the governments to fill the gap by raising the share of OBCs.
The commission cited that the total reservation for SCs/STs and OBCs for government employment and education was 45% in West Bengal, and 37% and 35% respectively in Punjab.
NCBC recommended that West Bengal increase the quota for OBCs by 5% in government employment and educational institutions. For Punjab, it suggested an increase of 13% and 15% for government employment and educational institutes, respectively.
The commission said in West Bengal, quota for SCs, STs, and OBCs was 22%, 6% and 17% respectively, adding up to 45%. In case of Punjab, quota for SCs and OBCs was 25% and 12% respectively for government employment.