The Supreme Court has upheld the Madras High Court’s decision declaring unconstitutional a Tamil Nadu government order that allowed people from certain reserved communities to claim Backward Class Muslim status after converting to Islam. A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the State government’s challenge on October 15, 2026
Background
The dispute arose from Government Order Ms. No. 15, issued on March 9, 2024. It permitted persons belonging to Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes to be recognised as Backward Class Muslims after conversion to Islam.
The matter originated with Sameer Ahamed, formerly known as Paramasivam, who was born into a Hindu family in Tamil Nadu and converted to Islam in 2015. After changing his name and marrying according to Islamic rites, he applied for a community certificate identifying him as a member of the Muslim Lebbai community.
The Tahsildar rejected his application. Ahamed approached the Madras High Court, which struck down the government order. The State subsequently challenged that decision before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that conversion to Islam does not automatically confer membership of one of the seven Muslim communities notified as Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu. A person’s previous caste or community identity cannot, solely because of conversion, establish eligibility for reservation under a different notified category.
The Bench observed:
"A person who converts from the Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order cannot claim affirmative action under Article 16(4) of the Constitution merely on the basis of the social backwardness associated with his pre conversion status. Backwardness suffered in the antecedent social order cannot by itself be carried forward so as to confer upon him the status of a backward class in the religion to which he has converted."
The Court also referred to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, under which Scheduled Caste status is subject to specified religious conditions. Paragraph 3 of the Order recognises Scheduled Caste status for persons professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, subject to the applicable requirements.
The Bench further clarified that even reconversion to Hinduism would not automatically restore a person’s earlier entitlement to reservation. Such eligibility must be assessed independently under the applicable constitutional and legal requirements.
The Supreme Court upheld the Madras High Court’s decision striking down the March 9, 2024 government order.
It concluded that conversion to Islam alone does not establish membership of a notified Backward Class Muslim community or automatically transfer a person’s previous caste status to that category.
