Supreme Court Rules Hindus Converting to Islam Cannot Claim Backward Class Reservation

On 15 October 2026, the Supreme Court upheld a Madras High Court judgment. It ruled that a person who converts to Islam cannot claim backward class reservation based on their earlier caste status.

What Did the Supreme Court Decide on Hindus Converting to Islam for Reservation Benefits?

1. The Supreme Court upheld the Madras High Court judgment and dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal.
2. Conversion to Islam alone does not make a person a member of any of the seven notified backward class Muslim communities in Tamil Nadu.
3. Backwardness faced in the earlier Hindu social order cannot be carried forward to claim backward class status in the new religion.
4. The seven notified Muslim communities are social groups, not religious schools of thought like Sunni or Shia. A mere declaration of conversion cannot prove membership in them.
5. The 2024 Government Order was found defective because it treated past disadvantage in one religion as proof of membership in a class of another religion.
6. The Court noted that the order gave no reason why converts from different backgrounds should fit into specific Muslim communities, and that it rested on mere presumption.
7. Under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, a person following a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be treated as a Scheduled Caste member.
8. Benefits under Article 16(4) that depend on belonging to the Hindu social order cannot be claimed after conversion to Islam, Christianity or any other non-Hindu faith.
9. If a person converts and later returns to Hinduism, the claim must be checked case by case to see whether the original caste identity has genuinely revived.

What Was the 2024 Order by the Tamil Nadu Government?

A Government Order dated 9 March 2024 allowed converts to Islam from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities or Scheduled Castes to be treated as BC (Muslim) and receive a community certificate. The Madras High Court declared it unconstitutional while hearing the plea of Sameer Ahamed. He converted in 2015, and a Tahsildar refused him a “Muslim Lebbai” certificate.

The seven notified communities are:

• Ansar
• Dekkani Muslims
• Dubekula
• Labbais (including Rowthar and Marakayar)
• Mapilla
• Sheik
• Syed

What Does Article 16(4) Define?

Article 16(4) of the Constitution allows the State to reserve posts in public services for backward classes that are not adequately represented. The Court said benefits under this Article that depend on belonging to the Hindu social order cannot be claimed after conversion to Islam, Christianity or any other non-Hindu faith.

Key Details of the Ruling

• Bench: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, with the judgment authored by Justice Mishra
• Core principle: Conversion cuts the legal basis of benefits tied to the earlier social order
• Scheduled Caste status: Under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, followers of religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be treated as Scheduled Castes. The Court relied on the recent Chinthada Anand v. State of Andhra Pradesh case.
• Reconversion: A person who returns to Hinduism needs a fact-specific check on whether the original identity has genuinely revived
• Outcome: Tamil Nadu’s appeal was dismissed and the High Court order stand.