Kolkata, May 16 (IANS) The West Bengal Backward Class Development Department had directed District Magistrates to re-verify all Backward Class certificates, including Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) documents issued in their respective districts in the last 15 years from 2011 to 2026, that is the three terms of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state.

Insiders from the current state secretariat of Nabanna said that clear instructions have gone from the department to District Magistrates to initiate strong legal action against those found procuring OBC certificates illegally by furnishing fake documents.

It is learnt that during these 15 years, around 1.69 crore Backward Class certificates have been issued in West Bengal, which include around one crore SC certificates, 21 lakh ST certificates and 48 lakh OBC certificates.

“As per the direction of the West Bengal Backward Class Development Department all these 1.69 crore Backward Class certificates will be re-verified by the District Magistrates concerned to ensure that no one is able to enjoy certain privileges like reservation,” said the state secretariat insider.

It is learnt that the department issued this direction after detecting anomalies in issuance of certain Backward Class certificates during the previous regime.

The District Magistrates have also been advised to take action against any state government official found guilty of issuing caste certificates to wrong persons against some consideration.

To recall, in May 2024, Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha dismissed all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010, stating that OBC lists prepared after 2010 in the state were illegal.

Again, in December last year, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) struck down 35 castes from West Bengal in the central OBC list, all from the Muslim community.

The BJP, as the principal Opposition party in West Bengal before the regime change after the recently concluded Assembly polls, had been constantly accusing the previous Mamata Banerjee-led regime of manipulating the OBC criteria to include only Muslims in the new communities to be included in the OBC list.

–IANS

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