The Supreme Court has upheld the Madras High Court’s decision that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim reservation benefits under the Backward Class (Muslim) category on the basis of their pre-conversion caste status.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s challenge to the High Court ruling, which had invalidated a State government order permitting persons belonging to Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes to be recognised as Backward Class Muslims after converting to Islam.
The dispute arose from a Tamil Nadu government order dated March 9, 2024, which allowed eligible converts to obtain community certificates under one of seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities.
The Madras High Court had struck down the order in June 2026, holding that conversion to Islam, by itself, did not entitle a person to claim membership of a particular backward Muslim community for reservation purposes. The State subsequently challenged that decision before the Supreme Court, which reserved its verdict in August after hearing the parties.
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