The TN Arunthathiyar (Special Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions Including Private Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State Within the Reservations for the SCs) Act, 2009, which provided for sub-quota for Arundathiyars in the reservation for SC/STs, has been challenged in the Madras High Court.
The first bench comprising, before which the public interest writ petition from Puthiya Tamilagam leader K Krishnaswamy came up, ordered notice to the State returnable in six weeks. The PIL sought to declare the Act (TN Act 4 of 2009), the Rules made there under and the consequential GOs passed in 2009 and all the subsequent proceedings as ultra vires of the Constitution and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16, 21 and 341.
Petitioner contended that by the impugned Act, State had only divided SCs in the Presidential List by regrouping them into another. They could not cull out SCs from Presidential List for preferential treatment without reference to National Commission for SCs.