CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government's stand on providing 10% reservation for economically weaker section (EWS) candidates among forward communities, will be known in two weeks.
Noting that the government has referred the matter to a group of senior ministers for a policy decision, the state's advocate-general Vijay Narayan told Madras high court on Tuesday, "We can inform the decision of the group of ministers to the court by July 13."
When a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy took up PILs on the issue, the advocate-general said, "The erstwhile commissioner of revenue administration, without consultation with the government, independently issued a circular to issue certificate for EWS."
Later, on June 4, the present commissioner, after consulting with the government, withdrew the earlier circular. Now, the entire issue has been referred to a group of senior ministers to take a policy decision on the issue, Narayan added.
Recording the submission, the bench adjourned the plea to July 13 for the government to report its decision.
He was making the submissions while responding to the pleas moved by Akhila Bharatha Brahmin Association, TN, Kerala & Puducherry Reddy Nala Sangam and another challenging the decision of the government to stop issuing income/ property certificates to avail EWS reservation.
According to the petitioners, 10% reservation has been provided to the economically weaker section by the parliament considering the plight of such segments. "To apply for the reservation, it is mandatory to obtain an income or asset certificate from the tahsildar concerned. While the constitutionally validated reservation is yet to be implemented in Tamil Nadu, the state government on June 4, issued a communication to all the district collectors to instruct tahsildars not to issue such certificates, either manually or online," advocate V Suresh said representing the petitioners.
The petitioner alleged that the action of the state in issuing the communication constitutes a failure to carry out the directions of the Union government and contradictory to the established rules of relationship between the Union and the states enshrined in the Constitution and amounts to violation of the principle of constitutionalism.
Adding that the while the whole of India is caught in the cobweb of Corona virus and when all the sections of society and all citizens are in constant grip of fear of the attack of Coronavirus, there was no immediate urgency to issue the illegal circular at this juncture, the petitioners alleged the circular is nothing but politically motivated.
"The decision has been taken to secure electoral mandate from those community people who form a major group in the bracket of caste reservation in Tamil Nadu," the petitioners said.
Therefore, the petitioners wanted the court to strike down the communication as illegal, arbitrary and wholly unconstitutional.
Noting that the government has referred the matter to a group of senior ministers for a policy decision, the state's advocate-general Vijay Narayan told Madras high court on Tuesday, "We can inform the decision of the group of ministers to the court by July 13."
When a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy took up PILs on the issue, the advocate-general said, "The erstwhile commissioner of revenue administration, without consultation with the government, independently issued a circular to issue certificate for EWS."
Later, on June 4, the present commissioner, after consulting with the government, withdrew the earlier circular. Now, the entire issue has been referred to a group of senior ministers to take a policy decision on the issue, Narayan added.
Recording the submission, the bench adjourned the plea to July 13 for the government to report its decision.
He was making the submissions while responding to the pleas moved by Akhila Bharatha Brahmin Association, TN, Kerala & Puducherry Reddy Nala Sangam and another challenging the decision of the government to stop issuing income/ property certificates to avail EWS reservation.
According to the petitioners, 10% reservation has been provided to the economically weaker section by the parliament considering the plight of such segments. "To apply for the reservation, it is mandatory to obtain an income or asset certificate from the tahsildar concerned. While the constitutionally validated reservation is yet to be implemented in Tamil Nadu, the state government on June 4, issued a communication to all the district collectors to instruct tahsildars not to issue such certificates, either manually or online," advocate V Suresh said representing the petitioners.
The petitioner alleged that the action of the state in issuing the communication constitutes a failure to carry out the directions of the Union government and contradictory to the established rules of relationship between the Union and the states enshrined in the Constitution and amounts to violation of the principle of constitutionalism.
Adding that the while the whole of India is caught in the cobweb of Corona virus and when all the sections of society and all citizens are in constant grip of fear of the attack of Coronavirus, there was no immediate urgency to issue the illegal circular at this juncture, the petitioners alleged the circular is nothing but politically motivated.
"The decision has been taken to secure electoral mandate from those community people who form a major group in the bracket of caste reservation in Tamil Nadu," the petitioners said.
Therefore, the petitioners wanted the court to strike down the communication as illegal, arbitrary and wholly unconstitutional.
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