Calcutta HC Seeks Clarification on OBC Certificates in Electoral Rolls

The Calcutta High Court has asked the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal to consider a request to not accept invalid OBC certificates as documents in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The court had previously struck down the OBC status of several classes of people in the state in a May 2024 judgment.

The petitioner, Arijit Bakshi, argued that the enumeration form for the SIR mentions OBC certificates as valid documents, which should be clarified to exclude those struck down by the court.

The Election Commission argued that the matter is pending before the Supreme Court and no order should be passed.

The court observed that the petition does not challenge any procedure of the SIR exercise and asked the CEO to pass a reasoned order within a week.