"Tamil facing bleak future:" Madras High Court holds only candidates who do entire education in Tamil medium eligible for 20% PSTM reservation

The Madras High Court has ruled that only candidates who have done their entire education in Tamil medium will be eligible for the 20 percent reservation extended by the State in public employment under the Tamil Nadu Appointment on Preferential Basis in the Services under the State of Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) Act (G. Sakthi Rao v. The Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and ors)..A Bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi emphasised that those candidates who study in English medium and thereafter obtain only the prescribed qualification (eligibility criteria for the job) in Tamil would not be eligible to the 20 percent PSTM quota. ."'Persons studied in Tamil Medium' as defined in Section 2(d) of the (PSTM) Act means persons who obtained educational qualification or qualifications prescribed would necessarily mean persons who have studied their entire education in Tamil medium. It is not mere acquiring the prescribed educational qualification alone in Tamil medium, but also should necessarily include study upto SSLC and HSC in Tamil medium. This purposive interpretation of term Persons studied in Tamil medium' alone would achieve the object of the Act", the Court's jugdment passed on March 22 stated..Any other mechanical interpretation to the contrary would destroy the object of the PSTM Act, i.e. to encourage people to study Tamil medium, the Court held. .The Bench also termed the grant of the PSTM quota to candidates who had earlier done their schooling in English medium as amounting to a fraud on the Act.."These candidates superficially fulfill the conditions and illegally obtain the benefits, which is really intended only to the deserving students who have completed their entire studies in Tamil Medium right from schooling to degree or prescribed qualification ... obtaining the degree alone (in Tamil medium) only for the purpose of technical compliance is nothing but fraud on the Act. It is not only fraud on the Act, but on the language itself", the Judgment stated..The Court proceeded to hold that contrary interpretations made by a single-judge in P Mariammal v. State of Tamil Nadu (which was also confirmed on appeal) was against the intent of the legislature..The Court noted that the single-judge had proceeded on the premise that most candidates who pursue higher education in Tamil would have pursued Tamil medium at the school level as well. .The Division Bench, however, pointed out that this was not the case. In one year, 27 of 34 candidates who availed the PSTM quota were found to have pursued schooling in English medium and only their higher education in Tamil. The Court opined that such artificial compliance is not what was intended by the Act.."It is made clear that those who have superficially or artificially tried to comply with the provisions of the Act, by merely getting the prescribed qualification alone in Tamil Medium are not entitled to the benefit and the procedure followed by the respondents is deprecated as it is against the very provisions of the Act", the Bench added. .The order was passed in a challenge to a January 2020 notification pertaining to the Combined Civil Services Examination, Group I Service issued by the TNPSC. The petitioner had contended that the quota should not be availed by candidates who have not done their school-level education in Tamil medium..Earlier, the Court had posed queries as to why the Governor is yet to give his assent to a 2020 amendment proposed to the PSTM Act, which clarified that the 20 percent quota is only available to candidates who did their schooling in Tamil as well. The assent for this amendment was given while the case was pending. .The Bench, however, opined that the amendment does not introduce anything new. Rather, the Court has viewed the same as being in line with the Court's interpretation of the unamended law. .The following, among other, directions were issued by the Court:. - The concerned authorities are to give 20 percent PSTM reservation only to those who studied their entire education throughout in Tamil medium i,e., right from 1st standard up to the prescribed qualification;- 20 percent reservation for PSTM candidates shall be applied at every stage of recruitment;- The PSTM Act, 2010 and the amendment Act of 2020 are Constitutionally valid, as the Act is to remove the disability sustained by the Tamil medium students due to education in Tamil medium viz., inability to get employment in Central Government as well as in other State Services, Private Sectors.- The Chief Secretary shall direct the Department of School Education and Higher Education to strictly indicate in the certificates itself the medium of instruction (viz., Tamil or English) that the student undergoes in the 10th standard, 12th standard, Degree and Post Graduate Degree, if not already indicated. - The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission shall also get the certificates verified from the school or college authorities with regard to those candidates who apply under PSTM quota. The Commission shall make it mandatory to produce the proof for having benefitted the scholarship for undergoing education in Tamil Medium and also the completion certificate for having studied in Tamil Medium.- The State government authorities are directed to appoint only those teachers who have been qualified in Tamil literature to teach the "Tamil subject" for the students at school as well as college level. - The government shall not appoint candidates who obtained cross-major subject degrees in Tamil as Tamil Teachers.- Certain directions have also been issued to ensure the continuation of a proper enquiry by the Vigilance Department into certain allegations of misconduct by the Madurai Kamaraj University. .Tamil facing a bleak future, important to impart education in mother tongue: Court.In the course of the judgment, the Court has expressed concern that the future of the Tamil language appears bleak, with the number of students pursuing Tamil medium school education falling to dangerous levels. ."Tamil language has been passed on for generations together for the past more than 2600 years. However, as on date, it faces bleak future. The interest to learn the language is shockingly declining and the students undergoing studies in Tamil medium is sharply decreasing among the masses and the parents are interested in admitting their wards only in English medium, ignoring mother tongue, Tamil language," the Court said..The Court also noted that the importance of imparting education in one's mother tongue has been recognised by the Constitution of India as well as the Central Government in the recently issued National Education Plan..If the use of the mother tongue is not promoted and if it is not passed on to the next generation, the language would die, the Court observed."No doubt, English is one of the binding forces of our national integration. However, too much of importance to English language or a few selected languages may not be in the interest of the native languages of the people or the Nation," the Court added..In this view, the Bench also highlighted that the PSTM Act is in consonance with the Constitution's scheme.."When the Constitution itself recognised the importance of mother tongue and the National Educational Policy of the country also gives importance to education in mother tongue of every citizen, so rightly the Tamil Nadu Government enacted the "Tamil Nadu Appointment on preferential basis in the Services under the State of Persons studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM in short) Act", so that people would be encouraged to undergo education in Tamil medium. It is the constitutional mandate to have education in Tamil medium and this Act has been passed only with an intention to benefit the students, who undergo education in Tamil medium," the judgment said..The Court added that other States must follow suit in passing legislations such as the PSTM Act. ."The Act, as a whole, which has got the object to benefit the persons, who are being disabled by studying in Tamil Medium has to be upheld as it is based on rational and reasonable classification. In fact, all the States in the country should follow the example of Tamil Nadu by enacting similar Acts in their respective States so as to preserve the language of States, especially, VIII Schedule languages," the Court said. .The order was passed in a challenge to a January 2020 notification pertaining to the Combined Civil Services Examination, Group I Service issued by the TNPSC. The petitioner had contended that the quota should not be availed by candidates who have not done their school-level education in Tamil medium. .Petitioner G Sakthi Rao appeared party in person. Additional Advocate General K Chellapandian, assisted by Special Government Pleader J Padmavathi Devi appeared for the State. Advocate KK Senthil appeared for the TNPSC. Senior Advocate Isaac Mohanlal appeared for certain Universities impleaded as respondents. Advocate VR Shanmuganathan appeared for the Bharathidasan University..[Read the Judgment]