Pinnacle court struck down Tamil Nadu s 10.5 percent Vanniyar Quota

31-03-2022

The AIADMK government had passed the Vanniyar Reservation Act in February last year, just before the model code of conduct came into effect for the state elections in April.

Tamil Nadu's quota in jobs and education for the Vanniyar community was cancelled today by the Supreme Court, which called it "unconstitutional" and a violation of the correct to equality.

The Vanniyar community was given 10.5 per cent reservation in government jobs and academic institutions through a law enacted last year. The law, "Vanniyar Reservation Act 2021", was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court today.

The state's ruling DMK said it might consult legal experts on what to try and do next. "The Supreme Court has accepted that states have the proper to grant special reservations. However, it's cited inadequate data. The AIADMK government had done this hastily," said state Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan.

The Supreme Court's order upheld a Madras judicature order on Hallowmass setting aside the quota handed by the AIADMK-led government that was in power in province at the time.

"It could be a violation of Article 14, 15, 16 (Right to equality; Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of faith, race, caste, sex or place of birth; Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment)," said the court on a batch of petitions challenging the Madras judicature ruling.

The AIADMK government had passed the Vanniyar Reservation Act in February last year, just before the model code of conduct came into effect for the state elections in April. The DMK, which came to power within the elections, implemented the quota.

Petitioners argued that the judicature decision was "erroneous in law" which a state legislature has the ability to produce quota to bring a community into the mainstream. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party founder S. Ramadoss had submitted that legislation unanimously gone along the state legislature enjoyed the presumption of constitutionality.

The Supreme Court noted that the authorities had didn't provide data that Vanniyars had to be treated as a separate group within the backward castes.

"We are of the opinion that there's no basis to treat Vanniyars as a separate group compared to other backward classes," said the judges.

Vanniyars are among the most important backward communities in Madras, with significant political influence. they need long campaigned for quota and since of their clout, they became the sole community to tend a ten.5% quota within the MBC (Most Backward Class) quota OF 20 per cent. quite 100 other communities were to share the remainder of the quota.

Tamil Nadu has 69 per cent reservation, which incorporates 30 per cent for Backward Castes, 20 per cent for many Backward Castes, 18 per cent for Scheduled Caste and 1 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes.

Today's order won't affect people who got jobs and admissions into educational institutions already, because the Madras judicature had clarified in its order.