The TVK government has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court judgment that held a person who converts to Islam cannot automatically claim the status of Backward Class (Muslim) for the purpose of reservation, as reported in The Hindu.
The State has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the High Court’s decision, which had struck down a 2024 Government Order (GO) that allowed eligible converts to Islam to be classified as BC (Muslim) for reservation benefits.
The High Court had delivered the judgment while hearing a petition filed in 2022 by a man from Thoothukudi district who had converted from Hinduism to Islam and changed his name. Born to Hindu parents, the petitioner had embraced Islam in 2015, with a conversion certificate issued by the Sunnath Jamath, Kayathar.
Following his conversion, he applied for a community certificate identifying him as “Muslim Lebbai”, the faith he claimed to profess. However, his application was rejected by the Tahsildar of Kayathar, prompting him to challenge the decision before the Madras High Court.
During the pendency of the case, the Tamil Nadu government issued a Government Order in 2024 stating that individuals who converted to Islam from communities classified as Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC) or Scheduled Castes (SC) would be treated as BC (Muslim) for the purpose of availing reservation benefits.
The High Court, however, declared the Government Order unconstitutional.
In its judgment, the Court held that a Hindu who converts to Islam does not carry forward the caste or sub-caste identity associated with Hinduism after conversion. It observed that the social status of a convert within Islam cannot be determined by the caste to which the individual belonged before conversion.
The Bench also referred to the position traditionally advanced by Christian missionaries and Islamic preachers regarding equality within their respective religions.
The Court observed, “Having taken such a stand for effecting conversions, it is disingenuous to claim that there is hierarchy in Islam also. In our respectful view, categorising certain sects as Backward and the remaining as Forward is antithetical to Quranic injunctions. Islam seeks to establish an egalitarian society. Everyone is equal in the eye of God. There is no social hierarchy.”
The High Court concluded that granting Backward Class (Muslim) status to converts on the basis of their pre-conversion caste was inconsistent with the egalitarian principles that Islam professes.
Challenging this ruling, the Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu has now moved the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition.
The appeal has arrayed the original petitioner, Sameer Ahamed N., along with the District Collector, the Revenue Divisional Officer and the Tahsildar as respondents. According to reports, the respondents had already filed caveats before the Supreme Court to ensure they are heard before any interim orders are passed in the matter.
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