The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday passed two Bills amending the state’s OBC reservation laws, bringing changes affecting reservation in government jobs and services. The amendments provide seven percent reservation for 66 OBC communities and reorganize the state’s OBC categories in line with the directions issued by the Calcutta High Court.The two Bills are the West Bengal Backward Classes (Certain Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026.A total of 186 MLAs voted in favor of the Bills, while 17 voted against. Six members abstained from the vote. Before the vote, a section of rebel MLAs from the TMC led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee left the House.Introducing the Bills, Backward Classes Development Minister Gourishankar Ghosh said the government was following Supreme Court orders and denied any political motive behind the amendments.“We deleted 113 classes included earlier without conducting any field survey, and retained 66 sub-classes, which were included after various surveys,” Ghosh told the House.He added: “The commission of Backward Classes will conduct inquiries and if it feels that any community should be included, it can make recommendations for the considerations of the state government. The previous government had bypassed the Commission and that is why the High Court canceled the process.”The amendments formally approve the state government’s decision to provide seven percent reservation to the 66 communities that were included in the OBC list before 2010. They also allow the government, after consulting the Backward Classes Commission, to decide reservation percentages for various OBC categories. However, the total reserve in the state cannot be more than 50 percent.Under the amended law, the government can classify OBC communities into different categories based on their social and educational backwardness. Reservation in government services and posts will then be provided separately for each category.The second Bill amends the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. It allows citizens to apply for inclusion in the OBC list. The Commission will review such applications and recommend whether they are accepted. People can also file a complaint regarding over or under inclusion of any community in the OBC list, after which the government will act based on the recommendations of the Commission.The amendments follow the May 2024 judgment of the Calcutta High Court, which annulled the OBC status granted to 77 additional communities, mostly included between 2010 and 2012, calling the process illegal and unconstitutional.The court canceled about 12 lakh OBC certificates issued after 2010, but protected the jobs already secured through these certificates. It also held that OBC certificates issued before 2010 will remain valid.On May 19, the state government discontinued religion-based categorization and regularized the 66 communities included in the OBC list before 2010, restoring their eligibility for a seven percent reservation in government jobs. Monday’s Bills provide legal support for this decision.
