In Brief
The Tamil Nadu Special Reservation Act 2021 sought to provide 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniakula Kshatriyas within the 20% reservation for Most Backward Classes and DE notified Communities. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment striking down the Act but on different grounds. While the Court held the State Legislature had competence to enact the law and that sub-classification of backward classes is permissible, it found the specific 10.5% reservation for Vanniakula Kshatriyas violated Articles 14, 15 and 16. The classification lacked substantial basis: it relied solely on population data from 1985 (antiquated), population alone cannot be the sole criterion for internal reservation, and no sound distinction was shown between Vanniakula Kshatriyas and the other 115 communities in the combined category.
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