The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court judgment that struck down a 2024 Government Order allowing certain persons who convert to Islam to avail reservation as Backward Class (Muslim).
The impugned judgment was delivered by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice P.B. Balaji. The Bench held that the Government Order was inconsistent with earlier decisions of both the High Court and the Supreme Court, observing that a person who converts to Islam can only be recognised as a Muslim and cannot automatically claim the status of a particular backward Muslim community for reservation purposes.
The Special Leave Petition (SLP), filed on July 6, challenges the High Court’s ruling that the Government Order was unconstitutional and contrary to settled judicial precedents.
The Government Order had provided that persons belonging to the Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC) or Scheduled Castes (SC), upon converting to Islam, could be issued a community certificate recognising them as BC (Muslim), provided they belonged to one of the seven notified Muslim communities eligible for reservation under the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993.
The seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities are Ansar, Dekkani Muslims, Dubekula, Labbais (including Rowthar and Marakayar), Mapilla, Sheik and Syed.
The issue arose from a petition filed by Sameer Ahamed, who embraced Islam in 2015. His conversion was officially notified through a Gazette notification in 2016. After marrying according to Islamic rites and having two children, Sameer applied for a community certificate identifying him as belonging to the Muslim Lebbai community. His request was rejected by the Tahsildar, prompting him to move the High Court.
Sameer relied on the Government Order issued by the Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department on March 9, 2024, to claim entitlement to the certificate.
During the proceedings, the High Court questioned the validity of the Government Order and impleaded the State government to examine its constitutional validity.
Defending the policy, the State argued that it was issued following the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, which, in a communication dated February 6, 2024, had advised that persons belonging to backward communities who convert to Islam should be granted community certificates under any of the seven notified Backward Class Muslim groups.
The State further submitted that the decision was taken after detailed deliberations and was intended to ensure that individuals who were already entitled to reservation benefits did not lose those benefits merely because they had converted to Islam. It contended that the policy would preserve social equity without disturbing the existing reservation framework.
The Supreme Court will now examine the State government’s challenge to the High Court’s ruling and decide whether the Government Order can withstand constitutional scrutiny.
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