Chennai

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday chaired a review meeting to discuss legal measures aimed at protecting the state’s 69 per cent reservation policy in admissions to educational institutions and appointments in government jobs.

Under the existing reservation structure in Tamil Nadu, 26.5 per cent reservation is provided to Backward Classes, 20 per cent to Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities, 18 per cent to Scheduled Castes, 3.5 per cent to Backward Class Muslims and 1 per cent to Scheduled Tribes.

Tamil Nadu’s reservation policy exceeds the 50 per cent ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indra Sawhney vs Union of India judgment.

The state’s 69 per cent quota system was formalised through the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993, enacted during the AIADMK government led by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

The legislation was later placed under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. Article 31B provides protection to laws included in the Ninth Schedule from being declared void on the ground that they violate fundamental rights.

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However, in the I.R. Coelho vs State of Tamil Nadu case, the Supreme Court ruled that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule are still subject to judicial review if they violate the basic structure of the Constitution.