KOCHI: The government has filed an appeal seeking quashing of the single bench order that stayed the inclusion of Christian Nadar communities in the OBC reservation list. The division bench may consider the appeal today.

On February 6, the state government had issued an order to include the Christian Nadar community other than the South Indian United Church (SIUC) in the Socially and Educationally Backward Communities' List. The single bench of the high court issued a stay after a petition was filed by MBFC general secretary S Kuttappan Chettiar against this order. The government has filed an appeal in the high court seeking its quashing.

The Single Bench granted a stay on the petitioners' argument that only the President has the power to include a section in the backward list under the 102nd Amendment to the Constitution. In the appeal, the government argued that that it had the authority to make additions to the reservation list in the absence of a final decision by the President and that there was no legal impediment to this. This has been made clear by the Supreme Court. The appeal also stated that the Union Ministry of Social Welfare had decided on April 4, 2020, to include Christian Nadars in the OBC.