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Madras High court says 10.5% reservation under Vanniyar quota subject to final order

- August 25, 2021

Chennai, August 25 (IANS)

The Madras High court on Wednesday ruled that admissions and appointments under 10.5% reservation for the Vanniyar community from the Most Backward Castes( MBC) would be subject to the outcome of the final order of the court. The court is hearing a bunch of writ petitions filed against the government order providing 10.5% internal reservation to Vanniyar community under the Most Backward Caste(MBC) quota.

The court however, said that it was not enforcing a stay on the special reservation even though it was hearing writ petitions against the internal reservation.

Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice S Kannammal of the division bench of the Madras High Court while hearing a set of writ petitions against the internal reservations said that any admissions provided or likely to be provided and any appointments made or to made on the basis of the 10.5% internal reservation is subjected to the outcome of the final verdict.

The division bench made it clear that the interim order must be known to every beneficiary of the law. The second bench of the Madras High Court also said that the court would be at its liberty to pass appropriate orders in its final verdict with respect to the admissions and appointments by internal reservation.

The court provided two weeks time for the impleading petitioners to file their pleadings and adjourned the case till September 14.

Advocate General R Shanmugasundaram contended that any interim order would not do good as after enactment, the Act was given effect and that the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University had already implemented the law in admissions.  

Thirty-five petitions were moved before the Madras High Court challenging the 10.5% internal reservation provided to the Vanniyar community. After the legislation for 10.5% reservation to the Vanniyar community was passed in the assembly just before the model code of conduct for the legislative assembly elections was announced, several other backward class organisations have opposed it.

Advocate KM Vijayan appearing on behalf of the petitioners pressed for an interim stay for an injunction on admissions in educational institutions. The council also said that the then government had malafide intentions. He said that the enactment was carried out hurriedly just before the elections were held.

The court also allowed the impleading petitions moved by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and others and permitted them to submit their pleadings in support of the law.