PMK urges T.N. government to conduct caste census to protect 69% reservations in view of upcoming case in SC

PMK president urges Tamil Nadu government to conduct caste census to protect 69% reservations in Supreme Court case.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday, July 1, 2024, urged the Tamil Nadu government to conduct a caste census to protect the 69% reservations in Tamil Nadu in the case pending against this in the Supreme Court, as it is expected to be taken up when court proceedings resume after summer break, on July 8.

In a statement, he said that the Tamil Nadu government enacted a special law in 1994 to protect the 69% reservations by placing it in the 9th schedule following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Indira Sawhney case in 1992, which stipulated that reservations should not exceed 50%. Now however, exempting the ninth schedule from judicial review has been challenged.

“On January 11, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that even items under the ninth schedule are subject to judicial scrutiny. Following this, the Supreme Court began its final hearings in the case against the 69% reservation,” he said, pointing out that in a verdict delivered on July 13, 2010, by a bench headed by then Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, the Supreme Court stated while the 69% reservation will remain, a caste-based census must be conducted within a year, and based on that, the percentage of reservations must be determined.”

Dr. Anbumani blamed successive Tamil Nadu governments for not conducting a caste-based census and maintaining the reservation percentages, leading to another case filed against it in 2012.

“The Supreme Court is expected to hear the re-review petition (in Maratha reservations issue) on July 8 after which the case against 69% reservations might be taken up. Given that the Tamil Nadu government has failed to conduct a caste-based census despite its orders, the Supreme Court will not accept any justification for the 69% reservation. If the Supreme Court questions why a caste-based census was not conducted to justify the 69% reservation, the Tamil Nadu government will have no answer,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani reiterated that a caste-based census can be conducted within a month and the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, grants the State government the authority to conduct such a census. “The 69% reservation is a fundamental part of Tamil Nadu’s identity. The government has a significant responsibility and duty to protect it. In fulfilling this duty, the Tamil Nadu government should take action without further delay to conduct a caste-based census,” he said.