Chennai, Jan 10:
The Madras High Court asked the T.N. government to consider the possibility of providing 1% horizontal reservation for the community across all caste categories in education as well as public employment.
Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy granted time till March 4, 2024 for Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram to take instructions from government officials, after the law officer said this was a policy decision which had to be taken at the highest level.
The judges agreed with Senior Counsel Jayna Kothari, representing transgender activist Grace Banu Ganesan who had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, that though Tamil Nadu was a pioneer in transgender persons’ upliftment, the reservation policy for the community in the State was somewhat complicated.
They pointed out that under the present policy, transgender persons who declare themselves as women get to enjoy horizontal reservation provided for women across all caste categories. However, those who declare themselves either as men or as of the third gender, were considered either under their respective caste category or under the Most Backward Class (MBC) category, whichever was beneficial to them.
Transgender persons can avail of any of quota benefits available to the marginalised, government tells SC
