Story perspectives

Supreme Court bars filling vacancies pending OBC certification case

By Drooid · Oct 2, 2026, 4:22 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Supreme Court OBC Stay

Supreme Court of India barred keeping vacant government posts pending OBC certification case.
Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana ordered appointment letters to depend on the petition.
Bench gave West Bengal four weeks for counter-affidavits and two weeks for rejoinders.
West Bengal High Court voided OBC certificates issued May 8-June 12 2025 and invalidated those June 10 2025-May 18 2026.
Jaya Thakur filed a curative petition alleging bias because Justice Satish Chandra Sharma’s son works for the Election Commission.

Summary

Supreme Court Rejects Freeze

Supreme Court rejected Trinamool Congress faction’s plea to stop West Bengal police freeze of four party bank accounts.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued the freeze should await the Election Commission’s decision on the party’s legitimate faction.
Senior Advocate A M Singhvi said the freeze limits the party’s ability to spend Rs 12.15 crore monthly for by-polls.
Supreme Court set an October 5 hearing on West Bengal’s challenge to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan’s interim bail.

History

Historical Context

On 16 November 1992 the Supreme Court of India, in Indira Sawhney v. Union of India, upheld the Mandal Commission’s 27 % OBC reservation ceiling and introduced the “creamy-layer” exclusion, citing a 52 % OBC population estimate. The ruling followed V. P. Singh’s 1990 announcement of the quota, which sparked nationwide protests and now underpins West Bengal’s OBC-certificate disputes and election-finance scrutiny.

1 of 3

Supreme Court OBC Stay

Supreme Court of India barred keeping vacant government posts pending OBC certification case.
Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana ordered appointment letters to depend on the petition.
Bench gave West Bengal four weeks for counter-affidavits and two weeks for rejoinders.
West Bengal High Court voided OBC certificates issued May 8-June 12 2025 and invalidated those June 10 2025-May 18 2026.
Jaya Thakur filed a curative petition alleging bias because Justice Satish Chandra Sharma’s son works for the Election Commission.

1 / 3