Supreme Court seeks Bengal response on OBC certificates, allows appointments pending plea

'We can't keep public posts vacant,' the bench observes as appointments remain subject to the outcome of the case

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Bengal government and other parties on a challenge to a Calcutta High Court order that had invalidated OBC certificates issued during specified periods and required some applicants to seek fresh certification.

A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notice on the plea and tagged it with another petition pending before the court on the same issue.

The bench also refused to keep certain vacant government posts unfilled while the legal challenge was pending.

"We can't keep public posts vacant," the court observed.

The bench directed that any appointments made to the posts would remain subject to the outcome of the special leave petition. It asked the state to include the condition in appointment letters issued to successful candidates.

The respondents, including the Bengal government, have four weeks to file their counter affidavits, followed by two weeks for rejoinders, if any. The matter will next be heard on November 23.

The petition challenges a Calcutta High Court order that revived its earlier stay on OBC reservations covering 114 classes after the Bengal government withdrew its challenge to that order before the Supreme Court.

The high court had said OBC certificates issued between May 8, 2025 and June 12, 2025, as well as certificates issued between June 10, 2025 and May 18, 2026, would be "void ab initio".

It had also said people belonging to OBC categories that existed before 2010 would have to apply afresh for certification if they fell within classes protected by a May 2024 judgment of a coordinate bench.

The high court had held that the Bengal cabinet's re-declaration of 77 classes in May 2025 and another 37 in June 2025 as OBCs did not have the force of law.

The issue followed the state's withdrawal of its challenge to the high court's June 17, 2025 order staying notifications concerning OBC-A and OBC-B reservations. The Supreme Court had earlier stayed that high court order.

The Calcutta High Court had in May 2024 struck down the OBC status granted to several classes in Bengal since 2010, holding that the reservations for vacancies in state services and posts were illegal.

The court had struck down reservations for 77 classes notified between April and September 2010 and another 37 classes created under the state's 2012 reservation law.