HC moved to classify Christian Vanniyars under MBC category

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday directed the State government to file a response within four weeks on a petition filed by a litigant to categorize Christian Vanniyars under Most Backward Class (MBC) list.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Krishnakumar passed the direction on hearing a petition filed by Dr Vijayan of Pollachi in Coimbatore district.

The petitioner submitted that the state government had passed a GO in 1993 to include the Christian Vanniyars under the MBC list but the same order was struck down by the Madras HC.

The petitioner further claimed that HC directed the Backward Class Commission to consider the matter.

“We made a fresh representation to the commission. However, the commissioner rejected it on the ground that they could not pass an order only by considering the census and data about Christian Vanniyars merely from four districts,” Vijayan submitted through his counsel.

He further claimed that the HC had passed the orders without considering the grounds and merits of the case. He pleaded for a direction to the court to validate the GO and to classify Christian Vanniyars under the MBCs category.

The petitioner noted that the BC commission rejected their representation 10 years ago and the socio-economic background of Christian Vanniyars is worse than Hindu Vanniyars. Therefore, Christian Vanniyars deserve to be listed under the MBCs category.