Court refuses to stay 10.5 pc quota for Vanniyars

Directing the State to file its counter on the issue within six weeks, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said, “No overwhelming case is made out at this stage except pointing out that the speed in which the commission entrusted to take a study may have not completed the exercise and the Act has been given effect only with the ensuing elections in mind.”

The counsel appearing for the petitioner, P Vijayakumar, submitted that the Act providing 10.5 per cent internal reservation for Vanniyars was brought in only for the purpose of obtaining votes of the relevant MBC population in the ensuing Assembly elections. He also sought the court to depreciate the political ploy adopted by the State government.

The petitioner also charged that the Act had come into being in haste. The Act was passed by the State legislature on February 26 and received the Governor’s assent on the same day, moments before the notification for the Assembly notification was published, it was argued.

The petitioner also submitted that more than 50 per cent of the 20 per cent reservation meant for MBC were being granted to the Vanniyars without any quantifiable data. A similar plea pending at the Madurai bench has also been linked to the case.