The Madras High Court on Thursday invalidated a Tamil Nadu government order that permitted people from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, and Scheduled Castes who converted to Islam to be classified as Backward Class Muslims.
A division bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and PB Balaji ruled that the March 2024 government order was unconstitutional, Scroll.in reported.
The court held that individuals who convert to Islam cannot claim the status of Backward Class Muslims solely on the basis of their earlier caste identity. It observed that after conversion, such individuals would be regarded simply as Muslims under the existing legal position.
The ruling came while hearing a petition filed by a 33-year-old man from Thoothukudi district who was born into a Hindu family and converted to Islam in 2015. After changing his name and marrying according to Islamic customs, he applied for a community certificate identifying him as a Muslim Lebbai, a category listed among the seven Backward Class Muslim groups recognised in Tamil Nadu under the 2024 order.
The application was rejected by the local tahsildar, following which the man approached the High Court and relied on the government order in support of his claim.
The Tamil Nadu government defended the order, arguing that it was issued based on recommendations from the State Backward Classes Commission. It maintained that only those who were eligible for reservation benefits before conversion would continue to receive such benefits after converting.
However, the High Court rejected the state’s argument, referring to an earlier judicial ruling from several decades ago that established that a person converting to Islam would be treated as an ordinary Muslim rather than retaining their previous caste classification.
The bench stated that this established legal principle could not be altered through an executive order.
The court further noted that the government’s decision effectively grouped converts from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, and the Scheduled Castes Muslim category with the apparent purpose of allowing them to continue receiving reservation benefits.