Madras High Court: Reservation System Perpetuates Caste System

Background of the Plea

• The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party had filed a contempt of court petition.
• It was filed against the government of India over the issue of non-compliance with the High Court’s order while implementing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in medical college seats under the All-India Quota (AIQ).

High Court's Initial Order

• The Madras High Court ordered the Central Government to form a committee made up of Tamil Nadu officials on July 27, 2020. The goal was to come up with a method for implementing OBC reservations in non-central institutions' All India Quota medical seats starting next academic year.
• The Court said there is no legal or constitutional bar to OBC reservation in the All-India Quota and the All-India Quota in the state's non-central institutions.
• The Bench ruled on many petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government, the DMK, AIADMK, PMK, and other political groups.

Court's Observation

• The Bench consisted of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu.
• On Wednesday, August 25, 2021, the Madras High Court ruled that the Constituent Assembly intended for the reservation system to be in place only during the early years of Independent India but that it is now endlessly extended through repeated amendments, perpetuating the caste system in the process.
• The Court also stated that citizens should be given more power so that "merit may ultimately decide matters of admission, appointment, and promotion" rather than the reservation system.

Conclusion

• The Court ruled that the Centre's July 29, 2021 notification implementing a 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates in All India Quota (AIQ) seats of medical colleges in Tamil Nadu may be permissible, pending formal approval by the Supreme Court.
• The Court also expressed reservations about the validity of extending a 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in AIQ seats and thus stated that it is not permissible without the approval of the Supreme Court.
• The Bench, while dismissing the petition, also found no 'wilful or deliberate' violation on the part of the Central government in carrying out the High Court's earlier decision on this issue, dated July 27, 2020.

What are your thoughts on the case?