Tamil Nadu: Court sets aside 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniyar community
The previous AIADMK-led government passed the Vanniyar Reservation Act in February before the model code of conduct came into effect ahead of the assembly polls held in April
The Madras high court on Monday set aside legislation granting 10.5% reservation to the Vanniyar community within the existing 20% quota for the most backward classes (MBC) in Tamil Nadu. Calling it unconstitutional, a bench of justices M Duraiswamy and K Murali Shankar passed the order in this regard on a batch of petitions challenging the law.
The previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led government passed the Vanniyar Reservation Act in February before the model code of conduct came into effect ahead of the assembly polls held in April.
After the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) formed the government in May, it issued a government order to fully implement the reservation following which the petitioners moved the court against it.
The petitioners argued that this reservation for Vanniyars will leave little for the 25 other castes under the MBC. The state defended the enactment and submitted that institutions such as the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University had implemented the reservation and added that it would not affect the prospects of other communities.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) called the order a disappointment and urged the DMK-led state government to move the Supreme Court.
The AIADMK government introduced the quota after the PMK, a caste-based party with Vanniyars as its core vote bank, threatened to walk out of the then ruling alliance if its demand for reservation in all jobs and educational institutions for the community was not met.
The DMK government, in its order issued in June, said the reservation which came into effect on February 26 will be applicable for new vacancies.
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