– Shabana Javed
Kolkata: The ongoing OBC survey in West Bengal has come under judicial scrutiny, with the Calcutta High Court questioning the state government’s lack of transparency. Concerns have been raised over the secrecy surrounding the survey, which is reportedly being conducted without any public advertisement or notification.
The controversy stems from a previous court order on May 22, cancelling 5 lakh OBC certificates. As per the order, all OBC certificates issued after 2010 during the Trinamool era were cancelled. However, the court said it will not have any impact on those who have got jobs using these certificates so far.
The bench of Justice Tapobrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Manthar observed that the OBC certificates issued after 2010 are against the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. The Courts directed the government to prepare a new OBC list as per this act. The new list will have to be approved by the assembly.
The state government is conducting a survey to prepare this new list. But the Court raised questions about the state’s new survey method. The new survey has started from March 1 this year. Meanwhile, the High Court had excluded 113 communities from the OBC list.
The State’s Backward Classes Commission is again accepting applications from the communities that were rejected in the new survey. The HC asked the state, “On what basis is the commission accepting applications from the rejected communities? Why has the commission itself not issued any notification?”
The Court ordered, “The Commission should immediately issue a notification about the OBC survey in various widely circulated newspapers. In this notification, the Commission should give a message that it is accepting applications from new communities for the survey. Along with this, instructions should also be given to the BDOs. The BDOs should inform the local panchayats about the OBC survey.”
The Court also included the Commission in this case. It was alleged that various departments were issuing recruitment notices from the rejected OBC list in violation of the High Court order. For this, the Chief Secretary had to face the wrath of the Division Bench earlier.
The Court also ordered action against the officials who had issued the notices in violation of the Chief Secretary’s order. It ordered the state to publicise the survey through newspaper advertisements and ensure outreach down to the panchayat level. The court emphasised the need for inclusivity, stating that any community claiming OBC status must be allowed to participate. However, it refrained from halting the survey at this stage.
