New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals from backward classes cannot continue claiming reservation benefits linked to their previous social standing after converting to Islam, establishing that past social backwardness cannot automatically be carried forward into a new religious order.
A bench consisting of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government, thereby upholding a prior ruling by the Madras High Court which had quashed a state notification granting quota benefits to converts.
The apex court emphasized that no statutory protection or reservation under Article 16(4) of the Constitution, which is predicated on a specific Hindu social order, can be extended merely on the basis of antecedent membership once an individual adopts Islam, Christianity, or another non-Hindu social framework.
Elaborating on the legal position, the bench noted that a person following any religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism cannot be treated as a member of a Scheduled Caste. Upon changing religions, an individual ceases to hold their previous Scheduled Caste status and cannot base affirmative action claims on that former identity.
The court further stated that conversion to a non-Hindu social order does not by itself confer membership into a notified backward-class community. Pre-conversion caste or community standing cannot simply be transposed into a distinct notified backward-class group within the post-conversion environment without proper legal grounds.
Addressing scenarios involving individuals who choose to reconvert to Hinduism, the Supreme Court clarified that eligibility for affirmative action cannot be decided solely on the basis of their earlier status. Such entitlements necessitate an independent, fact-specific determination by competent authorities to ascertain whether the original caste or social identity has genuinely been revived and whether all legal requirements are satisfied.
The litigation stemmed from a petition filed by Sameer Ahamed, who transitioned from Hinduism to Islam in 2015, married according to Islamic rites, and subsequently sought a certificate identifying him as part of the Muslim Lebbai community to secure reservation benefits.
Tamil Nadu government officials had defended their March 2024 order by arguing it aimed to prevent individuals from losing backward-class benefits solely due to religious conversion, relying on recommendations from the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission.
However, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's conclusion that the act of conversion alone does not make an individual a member of any specific notified backward-class community within the state, reinforcing that quota eligibility cannot be automatically transferred across religious boundaries.