Madras High Court. File
| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani
The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to look into a complaint that persons belonging to two subsects of the Mutharaiyar community from certain districts had been wrongly issued Most Backward Class (MBC) certificates instead of Denotified Community (DNC) certificates.
Justice P.T. Asha directed the Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, and Denotified Communities department secretary to dispose of a representation made in this regard by Mutharaiyar Ezhuchi Sangam, led by its president S. Panneerselvam, a doctor by profession, within 12 weeks.
The petitioner’s counsel Chevanan Mohan brought to the notice of the court that the Mutharaiyar community had several subsects, such as Ambalakarar, Valaiyar, Muthuraja, Muthiriyar, Servai, and so on. Some of thsese subsects had been classified as MBC in some districts and as DNC in others.
Referring to the Makkal Sasanam (People’s Charter) 2025-26 released by the State government, he pointed out that Ambalakarar community per se had been listed under the MBC category without mentioning the districts in which people of such community would be considered as belonging to MBC.
However, in the same charter, Ambalakarar of Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, and Pudukottai districts had been classified under the DNC category. This confusion had led to issuance of MBC certificates even for Ambalakarar in these nine districts, he claimed.
Similarly, the subsect Valaiyar had been listed under the MBC category without any mention of the districts but the same subsect from Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Pudukottai, Coimbatore, Erode, and Tiruppur districts had been classified under the DNC category.
However, without reference to the distinction between the subsects residing in different districts, revenue officials had been mechanically issuing MBC certificates to all Ambalakarars and Valaiyars for the past several years, leading to grave social injustice having been done to them, the counsel contended.
He said, the petitioner organisation had made several representations in this regard to the State government but lamented that no action was taken.
Published – March 16, 2026 02:51 pm IST
