AhlulBayt News Agency: In a ruling reported on October 15, the bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal against a Madras High Court decision that had struck down a 2024 state government order concerning reservation benefits for converts to Islam.
The case concerned a petitioner who had converted to Islam and sought recognition under the Muslim Lebbai backward-class category. The Supreme Court upheld the position that conversion alone does not automatically establish eligibility for membership in a recognised backward-class community or entitle an individual to reservation benefits associated with that category.
The ruling also referred to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which limits Scheduled Caste status to people professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism. Under this provision, conversion to Islam does not preserve Scheduled Caste status or the benefits specifically linked to it.
The decision has renewed debate over the relationship between religious conversion, caste identity and access to affirmative-action policies in India. Critics of the legal framework argue that excluding converts from certain protections can leave disadvantaged communities without adequate support, while the court's ruling rests on the eligibility requirements established under existing constitutional and legal provisions.
The judgment distinguishes between the right to adopt a religion and eligibility for specific reservation categories, which remains governed by constitutional provisions and applicable law.
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