HC directs TNPSC to follow reservation for women horizontally

CHENNAI: Heading the first bench along with Justice N Mala, Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari ordered the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to implement the rule of reservation for the women’s category horizontally and not vertically.

“The action of the TNPSC and the state government to first arrange the list of female candidates to the extent of 30 per cent of the posts in compliance of Section 26 of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act of 2016 and then to proceed further to arrange social reservation is opposed to the judgments of the Apex Court and even the Constitutional framework,” the bench held.

The court held that the TNPSC should arrange reservations by filling the open quota first and then the social reservation for BCs, SCs, and STs in a vertical way, adding,”Finally the special reservation for women and disabled can be implemented horizontally.”

“The horizontal reservation would be arranged after counting the women candidates finding a place in the vertical list on her own category, for illustration of a Scheduled Caste female candidate. For arranging a horizontal reservation for Scheduled Caste women, a female candidate finding a place in the list of Scheduled Caste would be counted towards their reservation and only in case of a shortfall, they would be given the benefit of female reservation in the manner illustrated by the Apex Court,” the bench ordered.

The judges also held that the exercise aforesaid would be undertaken in reference to all the selections under challenge and if any of the petitioners find a place in the merit based on the said arrangement, then they would be given an appointment in service to the post concerned.

The HC passed the orders on Wednesday while disposing of a writ petition filed by M Satheesh Kumar and others.

The petitioner prayed for a direction to TNPSC to implement the rule of reservation with regard to women in a horizontal manner by counting the number of women who are selected on their own merit for the purposes of satisfaction of reservation for women as explained by the Supreme Court in Rajesh Kumar Daria’s case reported in 2007.