The Kerala High Court has stayed the government order including Nadars belonging to Christian religious denominations other than South Indian United Church (SIUC) in the list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) for providing employment and educational benefits.
Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar issued the order on a writ petition by S. Kuttappan Chettiar of Thiruvananthapuram and another person challenging the order.
The petitioners contended that in the light of the provision contained in Article 342-A introduced to the Constitution in terms of the 102nd Amendment with effect from August 15, 2018, the State government had been divested of its power to specify any class of persons as socially and educationally backward.
In fact, only the President of India had the power to make such specifications. Therefore, the order issued by the government was unconstitutional as it was against Article 342-A.
The court observed that the petitioners had made out a prima facie case for an interim order and, therefore, the order would remain stayed.
