Madras HC likely to pass interim orders on Vanniyar quota

The Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government as why it should not pass an interim order on a batch of petitions challenging the 10.5 per cent internal reservation for Vannikkula Kshatriyas (Vanniyars) under the 20 per cent Most Backward Caste (MBC) quota.

As state government counsel, P. Muthukumar, requested the court to grant a short adjournment so that Advocate General, R. Shanmughasundaram can oppose the interim relief plea, the bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice S. Kannammal granted one day time to the state government and is likely to pronunce an interim order after hearing the state law officer.

Advocate K.M. Vijayan, who was appearing for one of the petitioners, urged the court to restrain the state from implementing the internal reservation in education and employment. He also argued that the cases should not be kept pending without any interim relief.

On his plea, Justice Sundresh said that the court could pass an interim order that the implementation of the new law would be subject to the outcome of the writ petitions pending before the court. Muthukumar intervened then to obtain time for the appearance of the Advocate General.

The state government was in full support of the law which was passed by the Assembly just before the model code of conduct had come into force in the state in February 2021, and said it was a "myth" to claim that the internal reservation to Vanniyars had affected other communities falling under the MBC quota.