The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the decision of the Madras High Court and quashed the reservation of 10.5 per cent offered to Vanniyar Community in Tamil Nadu. People hailing from this community were given reservation in jobs as well as colleges. Vanniyar is one of the most Backward Communities (MBC) in Tamil Nadu.
A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai said, “there is no substantial basis for classifying Vanniakula Kshatriyas into one group to be treated differently from the remaining 115 communities within the MBC groups.”
The apex court on Tuesday had said that it will decide the issue of referring the matter to a larger bench first without going into the merits of the case. The aggregate 20 per cent reservation for MBCs was split into three separate categories. This was done by regrouping castes and it provided a 10 per cent plus sub-quota for Vanniyars, formerly known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas.
The apex court had further directed that no fresh appointments to state government services or admissions to educational institutions should be made till February 15, the next date of hearing in the case. The top court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by the state of Tamil Nadu, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and others challenging the November 1, 2021 judgment of the high court quashing the reservation provided to Vanniyars, saying it was unconstitutional.
“We are of the opinion that there is no substantial basis for classifying Vanniakula Kshatriyas into one group to be treated differently from the remaining 115 communities within the MBC groups and, therefore, the 2021 Act is in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. Therefore, we uphold the decision of the high court,” the bench said, reported news agency PTI.
Last year, in February, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed the bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 per cent for Vanniyars. It was under the then ruling AIADMK following which the incumbent DMK government issued an order in July 2021 for its implementation.
Over 35 writ petitions were filed before the Madras HC by people belonging to other MBCs. They challenged the Act and the state government’s decision to give preference to Vanniyar community by sub-classifying them. The petitioners stated that after the insertion of the 102nd amendment to the Constitution of India, the state govt has no power to identify or classify any community as backward. Only the Parliament can do. The Act was, therefore, argued to be in violation of Articles 338-B and 342-A of the Constitution of India.
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