Justice Janarthanam, a quota warrior, is no more
Chennai: Former judge of
Madras high court
, Justice M S Janarthanam, known for his work on the reservation front and who had studied and recommended a 3% internal reservation for arunthathiyars among the Scheduled Castes, passed away on Friday.
He was 89.
Justice Janarthanam served in the high court from 1988 to 1998. He was appointed Tamil Nadu Backward Class Commission chairman in 2006 and served in that role until 2015.
Chief minister M K Stalin said Justice Janarthanam would be accorded state honours and that he would personally attend the last rites, in recognition of the judge's contribution to social justice. "It was based on his recommendation that reservation was implemented for Muslims, Christians, and arunthathiyars in Tamil Nadu," Stalin said in a condolence message.
Justice Janarthanam headed the state commission for backward classes and also was the one-man commission constituted by then chief minister, M Karunanidhi, to study the educational, social, and economic backwardness of the arunthathiyar community, which was part of the Scheduled Caste category.
In Aug 2024, a seven-judge bench of Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice of India, Justice D Y Chandrachud, upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009.
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The Tamil Nadu govt had passed the Act based on the recommendation of the commission headed by Justice Janarthanam, providing a 3% internal reservation to the arunthathiyar community within the 18% quota provided for the Scheduled Caste in 2008.
The Act brought together seven scheduled castes (SCs) — arunthathiyar, chakkiliyar, madari, madiga, pagadai, thoti, and adi andhra — as arunthathiyars for the sake of reservation on a preferential basis.
Justice Janarthanam also served as president of the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. "He was a firm but gentle human being. I have been associated with him since he was a registrar in Madras high court before his elevation as a judge of the court. His demise is a loss to the legal fraternity," advocate-general P S Raman said.
Describing him as a shining example of the chairman of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said Justice Janarthanam recommended a 10.5% reservation for vanniyars.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said: "The passing of such a figure is a great loss to both the judiciary and democratic movements fighting for social justice."
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