Setback For TN Govt As SC Upholds Madras HC Verdict, Says 'Conversion Alone Does Not Confer Backward Class Muslim Status For Reservation'

New Delhi: The Supreme Court upheld a Madras High Court judgment striking down a Tamil Nadu government order that allowed people converting to Islam from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes to obtain community certificates as Backward Class Muslims.

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar ruled that conversion to Islam does not automatically make a person a member of any of the seven notified backward class Muslim communities in Tamil Nadu. It held that a person's caste or community status before conversion cannot simply be transferred to a different notified community after conversion.

Major Setback For Tamil Nadu Govt

The verdict is a setback for the Tamil Nadu government, which had challenged the Madras High Court ruling before the apex court. The state had argued that the government order was intended to protect reservation benefits for socially disadvantaged people who exercised their fundamental right to practise a religion of their choice under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The dispute concerns Government Order (Ms) No. 31, issued on March 9, 2024, following a recommendation by the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission. It permitted converts from BC, MBC, Denotified Community and Scheduled Caste backgrounds to be issued certificates identifying them as members of one of seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities.

Tamil Nadu provides a separate 3.5 per cent sub-quota for Backward Class Muslims within its reservation framework. Rejecting the state's position, the Supreme Court held that the government order created an artificial route to reservation benefits without establishing the necessary social and legal connection between a person's former community and the Muslim backward class category.

Supreme Court Clarifies Community Status

The Bench affirmed the central conclusion reached by the High Court, observing that conversion alone could not establish membership of a particular notified backward class community. It also held that a private religious body could not conclusively determine a person's entitlement to statutory benefits.

The court further clarified that a community certificate merely declares an existing status; it does not create or confer that status. Neither the issuance of a certificate nor an executive instruction can override the constitutional and statutory requirements governing eligibility for reservation.

Conversion & Scheduled Caste Eligibility

The judgment also addressed the implications of conversion for Scheduled Caste status. Referring to paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, the court noted that a person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be deemed a member of a Scheduled Caste under the existing provisions.

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How The Legal Dispute Began

The case originated with Paramasivam, who was born Hindu, converted to Islam in 2015 and adopted the name Sameer Ahamed. He sought a community certificate identifying him as a Muslim Lebbai to claim Backward Class reservation benefits. After the Tahsildar rejected his application, he approached the court, relying on the 2024 government order.

The Madras High Court subsequently struck down the order, holding that conversion did not automatically establish membership of a notified backward class Muslim community. The state then challenged that decision in the Supreme Court, which reserved its order at the admission stage before delivering its verdict.

Court Addresses Reconversion & Reservation

The apex court also clarified that a person who reconverts to Hinduism cannot automatically reclaim reservation benefits based solely on their earlier caste status. Such eligibility would require an independent, fact-specific assessment by the competent authority.