New Delhi, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Madras High Court judgment striking down a Tamil Nadu government order that allowed people from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes to claim Backward Class (Muslim) reservation benefits after converting to Islam.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s special leave petition challenging the High Court’s verdict, which had declared unconstitutional the government order issued on March 9, 2024.
The ruling upholds the High Court’s decision that an executive order cannot automatically extend the benefits of a notified reservation category to people who convert to another religion, merely on the basis of their earlier caste or community identity.
The case originated from a petition filed by Sameer Ahamed N., who was born into a Hindu family and converted to Islam in 2015. He subsequently applied for a community certificate recognising him as a Muslim Lebbai, but the Tamil Nadu revenue authorities rejected his application.
The Madras High Court upheld that rejection and struck down Government Order No. 31, which permitted converts from BC, MBC, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes to be treated as Backward Class Muslims for reservation purposes.
A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P.B. Balaji had held that the government could not use an executive order to override judicial precedents governing the consequences of religious conversion.
The High Court also questioned the government’s decision to bring people from distinct reservation categories under the same Backward Class (Muslim) classification without establishing the legal basis for doing so.
It observed that conversion to Islam did not, by itself, entitle a person to claim membership of one of the specifically notified Backward Class Muslim communities.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes months after it upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment concerning Scheduled Caste status following conversion to Christianity.
In its March 24 ruling, a Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria held that a person who converts to Christianity and continues to profess and practise that religion cannot claim Scheduled Caste status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
The court ruled that conversion to a religion outside those recognised under the order results in the immediate loss of Scheduled Caste status. It subsequently dismissed a review petition challenging that judgment, finding no apparent error warranting reconsideration.
The latest ruling concerns Tamil Nadu’s specific government order on Backward Class (Muslim) reservation benefits and reinforces the legal limits on extending notified community classifications through executive action.
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