Supreme Court Order on Conversion Quota, Tamil Nadu Policy and Madras High Court Verdict

The Supreme Court of India has affirmed an order by the Madras High Court regarding reservation benefits following religious conversion. The case originated from a Tamil Nadu government order that allowed individuals from backward classes, most backward classes, and denotified communities who converted to Islam to obtain backward class Muslim certificates. The Madras High Court had struck down that state order, observing that conversion to Islam does not automatically carry over birth-based caste privileges rooted in the Hindu social order. The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge filed by the Tamil Nadu government, noting in its order that conversion severs the legal foundation of entitlement specifically conditioned on membership in the Hindu social order. The court stated that pre-conversion caste status cannot be automatically transposed to a notified Muslim backward class category. The bench clarified that private religious bodies cannot determine statutory reservation entitlement.