HC acts on BJP plea, pradhanto lose OBCcertificate

Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamluk sub-divisional officer (SDO) to cancel the OBC certificate of Khukurani Mondal Ghorai, pradhan of Ishwarpur gram panchayat, within a week. Ghorai had contested and won the 2023 panchayat elections on a Trinamool Congress ticket on a seat reserved for OBCs.The case was brought against Ghorai by Ranajit Rakshit, BJP's candidate for the seat in the 2023 panchayat polls.
Rakshit had alleged that Ghorai had obtained her OBC certificate fraudulently, and had pointed out that on July 23, 2025, the SDO had held that Ghorai did not belong to the OBC community.Justice Krishna Rao, who heard the matter, said, "Once the SDO came to the conclusion that the pradhan did not belong to the OBC community, the SDO ought to have passed an order of cancellation of the OBC certificate. But no such action was taken."