CHENNAI: Merely because a candidate writes the academic examination or competitive examination in Tamil, he/she cannot get reservation under the PSTM (persons who studied Tamil as medium of instruction) category. A certificate issued by the head of the institution/Registrar or Principal of the college in the prescribed format, certifying that he/she was imparted the course in Tamil as medium of instruction, has to be furnished, ruled a full bench of Justices R Subbiah, CV Karthikeyajn and C Saravanan on Friday.
For the purpose of recognising a candidate, within the realm of selection to employment in government services under PSTM category, a candidate should have studied through Tamil as medium of instruction, the court said. The full bench was answering a vital question referred to it in February this year to decide a number of cases on the issue. Tamil, as a medium of Instruction, is not in vogue in certain colleges or law education is not imparted in Tamil in several colleges.
Till date, the law colleges in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli and Chengalpattu are imparting the courses in Tamil, as is evident from the GO dated January 31, 2017, as well as the counter affidavit filed by the Director of Legal Studies. However, a certificate issued by the head of an institution about a candidate’s education through Tamil medium is mandatory to claim the reservation, they added.