The Calcutta High Court has reinstated its stay on Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation status for 114 community groups in West Bengal, following the state government’s decision to withdraw its challenge before the Supreme Court. Consequently, examinees relying on these credentials for national competitive assessments, including the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), must be treated as general category candidates.
Impact On NEET Candidates And Certificate Holders
A division bench consisting of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Anuj Singh issued the ruling on Wednesday while invalidating an OBC-A certificate granted on April 13, 2026. The bench held that the document was void from its inception because it was issued pursuant to executive orders that lacked legal force.
The decision affects a broad range of documentation. The court clarified that all OBC certificates issued by state authorities between May 8, 2025, and June 12, 2025, alongside those granted between June 10, 2025, and May 18, 2026, are entirely void. Individuals claiming central list OBC status through these documents in ongoing national and state tests must now compete under general category seats.
Relief Provisions For Pre-2010 Categories
For candidates belonging to the 66 OBC classes established before 2010, the high court noted that eligible individuals must reapply to obtain fresh certification.
Without issuing a binding direction, the division bench observed that West Bengal authorities retain full discretion to implement administrative measures in the interest of pre-2010 OBC applicants competing in current-year examinations to avoid student inconvenience.
Legal Timeline And SC Appeal Withdrawal
The underlying litigation stems from a May 22, 2024 judgment in which a division bench struck down OBC reservations for 114 classes granted after 2010—specifically 77 classes added between April and September 2010 and 37 classes recognized under a 2012 state law—after finding them unlawful. The 2024 order left 66 pre-2010 executive classifications intact because they were not challenged.
Following state cabinet decisions in May and June 2025 to re-declare those 114 classes as OBCs, the high court issued a stay on June 17, 2025. Although the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the high court’s order on July 20, 2025, the new state administration subsequently withdrew all special leave petitions challenging both the original May 2024 verdict and the June 2025 stay.
The high court observed that this withdrawal extinguished the Supreme Court’s interim order, thereby automatically reviving the High Court’s June 17, 2025 stay on the state notifications.
