The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court ruling striking down Tamil Nadu’s decision to extend Backward Class Muslim (BCM) reservation benefits to people who converted to Islam from certain Hindu communities.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the state government’s petition.
“A person who converts from the Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order cannot claim affirmative action under Article 16(4) of the Constitution merely on the basis of the social backwardness associated with his pre-conversion status,” Bar & Bench quoted the bench as saying.
The ruling concerns a March 2024 government order allowing Hindu converts to Islam from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC) and Scheduled Castes (SC) to receive community certificates under the BCM category.
The bench also noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, restricts Scheduled Caste status to Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, the publication reported.
The court added that reconversion to Hinduism would not automatically restore a person’s pre-conversion backward status.
WHAT TAMIL NADU HAD ARGUED
Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court on July 6, challenging the Madurai Bench’s ruling that the government order was unconstitutional.
The state argued that conversion does not erase the social and educational disadvantages linked to caste. It said the order sought to protect people from losing existing reservation benefits solely because they embraced Islam.
The policy followed recommendations from the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, the government said. It maintained that the measure would not disturb the existing reservation framework or social balance.
WHY THE HIGH COURT STRUCK DOWN THE ORDER
A High Court bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and PB Balaji held that conversion to Islam does not automatically make a person a member of one of Tamil Nadu’s seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities.
These are Ansar, Dekkani Muslims, Dubekula, Labbais, including Rowthers and Marakkayars, Mapilla, Sheik and Syed.
The High Court held that these were birth-based social groups and that conversion alone did not establish membership. It also observed that Islam preaches equality and that caste status cannot be acquired through conversion.
The bench found the government order contrary to legal principles laid down by the High Court and Supreme Court.
HOW THE CASE REACHED COURT
The High Court judgment arose from a petition by Sameer Ahamed, who converted from Hinduism to Islam in 2015.
He later sought a community certificate identifying him as a member of the Muslim Labbai community. The Tahsildar rejected his application, prompting him to approach the High Court.
During the proceedings, the state defended its 2024 order as a way to preserve reservation benefits for socially backward people who changed their religion.
- Ends