Aishwarya Rathore
Published on August 24, 2021, at 16:44 IST
The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered the State Government to respond by Wednesday, as to why it should not issue interim orders in several cases challenging a law that provides 10.5 % internal reservation for Vanniakula Kshatriyas within the 20% earmarked for Most Backward Classes (MBCs).
Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and S. Kannammal granted a day to the State since the Government Counsel P. Muthukumar requested the Court to grant a short adjournment to enable the appearance of Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram to oppose the plea for interim relief.
K.M. Vijayan, the Senior Counsel representing one of the petitioners, requested the Court to restrain the Government from implementing internal reservations in education and public employment.
The Senior Counsel, Vijayan contended that if the lawsuits were left pending without any interim relief, it would become a fait accompli.
Finding merit in the submission, Justice Sundresh stated that the Court could pass an interim order deferring the implementation of the new law until the outcome of the writ petitions pending before it.
Furthermore, it claimed that the Government had the authority to pass such a law for internal reservation, referring to a 2007 enactment that gave Backward Class Muslims in the State separate reservation.