The appeal challenges a Madras High Court judgment barring certain converts to Islam from reserved categories to seek Backward Class (Muslim) reservation
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI — The Tamil Nadu Government has approached the Supreme Court challenging a ruling of the Madras High Court that held that a person who converts to Islam cannot claim Backward Class (Muslim) reservation benefits.
The appeal, filed this week, is against a judgment that struck down a Government Order (GO) issued on 9 March 2024. The order had allowed certain individuals from Backward Class (BC), Most Backward Class (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC) and Scheduled Caste (SC) backgrounds who embraced Islam to seek recognition under the Backward Class (Muslim) category for reservation-related purposes.
Under the Government Order, such individuals could apply for community certificates under one of seven notified Muslim communities and become eligible for reservation benefits available to those categories.
However, a division bench comprising Justice G R Swaminathan and Justice P B Balaji set aside the order, holding that it was inconsistent with existing judicial precedents.
The high court observed that a person who converts to Islam can be recognised as a Muslim but cannot automatically be treated as belonging to a specific notified Backward Class (Muslim) community merely because of conversion.
“The convert can only be recognised as a Muslim. Such recognition alone does not make the individual a member of a particular notified Backward Class Muslim community for reservation purposes,” the court held.
The judgment was delivered in a case filed by Sameer Ahmed, who embraced Islam in 2015 after leaving Hinduism. According to court records, the conversion was officially notified through a gazette publication in 2016.
Sameer Ahmed later married according to Islamic customs and sought a certificate identifying him as a member of the Muslim Labbai community, which would have enabled him to claim reservation benefits under the Backward Class (Muslim) category.
His application was rejected by the local Tahsildar, prompting him to approach the high court.
While hearing the matter, the court examined whether conversion alone could confer membership of a notified backward community and concluded that such status could not arise automatically through a change of religion.
The Tamil Nadu Government has now argued before the Supreme Court that the high court’s interpretation requires reconsideration and has sought restoration of the Government Order.
The case is expected to have wider implications because it concerns the intersection of reservation policy, community classification and the legal status of individuals who change their religion.
Supporters of the Government Order argue that many converts continue to face social and economic disadvantages even after changing their faith and should not automatically lose access to affirmative-action benefits.
Those supporting the high court ruling, however, maintain that reservation benefits attached to specific communities cannot be extended solely based on conversion without satisfying the legal and social criteria applicable to those communities.
The Supreme Court’s decision on the appeal could provide important clarity on how reservation laws apply to religious converts and how community status should be determined in such cases.
