State does away with OBC categorisation, will review list
Times of India | 19 May 2026
Kolkata: Ordering fresh review of the OBC list, Bengal govt on Monday scrapped the existing sub-categorisation system tied to reservations in govt jobs and posts. The move was approved during the second cabinet meeting of the newly formed govt at Nabanna on Monday.
Briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, state urban development and women & child development minister Agnimitra Paul said govt decided to revisit the state's OBC structure and reservation policy in accordance with judicial directives. "There will be revision of state list of OBCs and cancellation of sub-categorisation of classes in such list and percentage of reservation for the OBCs in the services and posts under state govt as per the high court's May 22, 2024 judgment." An inquiry panel will be set up to decide quota eligibility, she added. "State govt will conduct fresh inquiries and there will be reconsideration only for those specific groups that the HC has explicitly mentioned or identified. After reviewing the overall matter and making a decision, state govt will legally re-include those specified groups in the list," Paul said.
The issue of OBC reservation in Bengal has remained politically sensitive and legally contentious for years. Under the previous Trinamool govt led by Mamata Banerjee, several communities were added to the OBC list through executive orders issued after 2012. Official records indicate that 77 communities were included during this period. Of these, 75 were Muslim sub-groups. BJP consistently criticised the move while it was in opposition, alleging that religion-based considerations influenced the expansion of the OBC list.
Controversy intensified in May 2024 when the Calcutta High Court struck down OBC certificates issued after 2010 under the revised system. The court observed that religion effectively became the sole criterion for extending OBC status and ruled the process unconstitutional. While existing jobs secured through the reservation framework remained protected, the ruling invalidated lakhs of certificates.
The previous govt later attempted to revise the OBC framework through a fresh notification, but the high court stayed the move, citing procedural concerns.