Bengal police constable results put on hold till Sep 30 by Calcutta high court over EWS quota row
Times of India | 20 August 2026
KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court on Wednesday ordered the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board to keep the final results of its constable recruitment examination on hold until September 30, following petitions challenging the selection process over the reservation provided to economically weaker sections (EWS).
The recruitment notification for nearly 12,000 constable posts was issued in 2024.
According to news agency PTI, the court was informed that interviews for the recruitment had been conducted in January and February.
The recruitment board, in a notice issued on August 18, had stated that EWS certificates issued before the date of the interview would be accepted for consideration.
After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Amrita Sinha directed that the results of the recruitment process should not be published before September 30.
The judge also instructed the recruitment board to issue a public notice making it clear that any action taken as part of the recruitment process would remain subject to the outcome of the petitions pending before the high court.
Justice Sinha said the matter would be heard again on September 11.
During an earlier hearing, the petitioners had argued that the recruitment notification required candidates selected under the EWS category to submit income and asset certificates for the 2023-24 financial year or a subsequent period.
The petitioners told the court that while verifying testimonials, the recruitment board had issued a notice on January 20 specifying that EWS candidates' income and asset certificates had to be valid for 2023-24.
They argued that there should be a fixed cut-off date for the certificates and that the requirement could not remain open-ended. According to their submission, the recruitment authority should not accept certificates obtained after the last date for submitting applications for the recruitment.
The counsel representing the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board, however, told the court that the recruitment exercise was being carried out in accordance with the terms laid down in the recruitment notification, PTI reported.