Kolkata, June 29 -- The Bengal Assembly on Monday passed two amendment Bills to overhaul the state's OBC reservation framework, expanding the powers of the Backward Classes Commission and bringing the law in line with the Calcutta High Court's directions following last year's verdict.

The two legislations - The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than SC and ST) Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026 - were passed after a division vote, with 186 MLAs in favour, 17 against and six abstaining.

A section of the TMC led by Ritabrata Bandopadhyay walked out. The division was ordered after ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui opposed passage of the Bills by voice vote. Tabling the Bills, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gouri Shankar Ghosh said the amendments were intended to align the state's reservation policy with the High Court's directions and rejected allegations of any political motive.

"We have retained 66 classes in the state OBC list and removed 113 classes that had been included without field surveys. The Commission will examine claims, conduct inquiries and recommend inclusion wherever justified. The previous government bypassed the Commission, which is why the High Court struck down the process," Ghosh said.

The amendment removes 113 communities listed in Schedule I of the 2012 OBC reservation law. It also empowers the state government, in consultation with the Backward Classes Commission, to classify OBC communities into categories based on measurable levels of backwardness and determine reservation for each category, subject to the constitutional ceiling of 50 per cent.

Under the amended law, every Commission member will serve a fixed three-year term from assuming office. The tenure restriction will not apply to the Member Secretary if the post is held by a serving state government officer, whose tenure will be fixed separately by the government. The Commission can hear complaints over the inclusion of ineligible communities and the exclusion of eligible groups. It may also initiate inquiries suo motu whenever it considers a review of any community's status necessary.

Based on its findings, the Commission may recommend the inclusion, exclusion or reclassification of communities in the OBC list. The final decision, however, will continue to rest with the state government.

In May 2024, the Calcutta High Court struck down OBC certificates issued after 2010, holding that the process adopted by the then Trinamool Congress government did not comply with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.