Chennai: Tamil Nadu has been following 69% reservations in admission to medical, engineering and arts and science colleges since 1994 through a legislation. Interestingly, it got its reservation law included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to escape judicial review (Later, however, the Supreme Court said such legislation can be reviewed).
The break up is 26.5 per cent for Backward Castes, 3.5% for Backward Caste Muslims, 20 % for Most Backward Castes [All these are generally classified as OBCs]. Besides, the State provides 15% reservation for the Scheduled Castes, 3% for a sub-community of SCs and 1% for the Scheduled tribes.
The Supreme Court has neither endorsed nor struck this down. While no case has been filed challenging admissions to engineering and arts and science colleges, an advocate K M Vijayan moved the Supreme Court in the mid-1990s challenging the reservation in medical college admissions.
This case is still pending before the Supreme Court. For nearly 25 years, just before the admission season every year, the apex court would pass an interim order directing creation of additional medical seats in government colleges to ensure that meritorious students, who would have otherwise secured admission if the reservation had been capped at 50%, do not lose out. These seats would be over and above the sanctioned seats in each medical college.
However, this year a division bench refused to pass any such interim order saying it cannot order creation of even one additional seat. In August, the bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee have also refused to stay the 69% reservations.
