Chennai: On Friday, the Opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu moved the Madras High Court seeking to pass an interim injunction against the recent Constitutional amendment granting 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker sections of the society.
The petition filed by DMK Counsel P Wilson on behalf of DMK Organising Secretary R S Bharathi, was expected to be taken up for hearing on Monday before a Bench comprising Mr Justice Manikumar and Mr Justice Subramaniom Prasad.
Mr Bharathi said in his plea that reservation was not a poverty alleviation programme and were meant to uplift communities which have not had access to education or employment for centuries.
''Therefore essentially, the exception to the equality clause is only available to those communities which are ostracised for centuries in the matter of education and employment'', he said.
However, economic criteria have been used as a filter to exclude the Creamy Layer, persons from Backward Classes, but were economically advanced, the DMK OrganisingSecretary said.
''Hence application of economic criteria solely is not contemplated as an exception to the rule of equality and consequently to provide reservation solely on economic criteria offends the basic structure of the Constitution'', Mr Bharathi said.