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05 Apr 2022 Vanniyakula Kshatriya Reservation

Posted at 12:04h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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Recently the Supreme Court quashed 10.5 percent internal reservation for Vanniyakula Kshatriya community in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court held that the 10.5% internal reservation to the Vanniyakula Kshatriya community violates the fundamental rights of equality, non-discrimination and equal opportunity of 115 Other Most Backward Communities (MBCs) and Denotified Communities (DNCs) in Tamil Nadu.
There is no specific and sufficient basis for allotment of 10.5 per cent reservation to one community within the total 20% quota of Most Backward Classes (MBC) in the State and only 9.5% quota to other 115 other communities in this category.
Further, the Court said that no assessment or analysis was done prior to the 2021 Act to support the claim that Vanniakula Kshatriyas were relatively more backward than other MBCs and DNCs.
The Court underlined that caste can be the starting point for internal reservation, but it is up to the state government to justify the rationale of the decision.
Although the Court upheld the 2021 Act and its percentage of reservation as unconstitutional, it recognized the legislative capacity of the state as a competent authority to legislate for sub-categorizing and dividing this percentage within identified backward classes.

69% reservation is applicable in Tamil Nadu under the Act of 1994, which is protected under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Out of 69% Christians and 30% of backward classes including Muslims, 20% to MBCs; there is a provision of 18% reservation for Scheduled Castes and 1% for Scheduled Tribes.
This reservation was provided under the Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities Act, 2021 in the state. Today Current Affairs
It included the Vanniyakula Kshatriya community (including Vanniyar, Vaniya, Vanniya Gounder, Gounder or Kandar, Padayachi, Palli and Agnikul Kshatriya).
In the year 1983, the 2nd Tamil Nadu Backward Commission considered that the population of Vanniyakula Kshatriyas is 13.01% of the total population of the state.
Therefore, the provision of 10.5% reservation to a community with a population of 13.01% cannot be said to be disproportionate.

The Ninth Schedule was added to the Indian Constitution by the first amendment.
It was introduced on May 10, 1951 by the Jawaharlal Nehru government to protect land reform laws from being challenged in court on the ground of violation of fundamental rights.
It was protected by the new Article 31B. Today Current Affairs
Article 31B also has a retrospective operation, that is, if a law is included in the Ninth Schedule even after being declared unconstitutional by the court, it will be considered constitutionally valid from that date.
While most of the laws protected under the schedule pertain to agriculture/land issues, the list includes other subjects as well. The Hindu Analysis
Although Article 31B is beyond judicial review, the apex court later held that laws under the Ninth Schedule would also come under judicial review if they violate fundamental rights or the basic structure of the Constitution.