Supreme Court: Person Converting from Hinduism to Islam Cannot Claim Backward-Class Muslim Status

October 15, 2026

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Madras High Court’s decision declaring unconstitutional the Tamil Nadu government’s order allowing people who converted from Hinduism to Islam to avail of reservation benefits under the Backward Classes (Muslims).

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shri Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s special leave petition (SLP). The government had challenged the Madras High Court’s decision quashing the government order issued on March 9, 2024.

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision based on constitutional principles. The court held that a person belonging to a backward class or Scheduled Caste in the Hindu social order cannot automatically continue to enjoy their old reservation benefits after converting to another religion.

The court also clarified that social backwardness associated with a person’s original religious and caste identity does not automatically transfer to another religious community upon conversion.

What is the whole matter?

This case relates to a petition filed by Sameer Ahmed N., who was born into a Hindu family and converted to Islam in 2015. He subsequently applied for a Muslim Lebbai community certificate, but the Tamil Nadu revenue authorities rejected his request.

Subsequently, the Madras High Court upheld the rejection of the application and declared the Tamil Nadu government’s Government Order (G.O. No. 31) dated March 9, 2024, unconstitutional.

This order allowed people from Backward Classes (BCs), Most Backward Classes (MBCs), Denotified Communities (SCs), and Scheduled Castes (SCs) who converted to Islam to be included in the Backward Classes (Muslims) category for reservation purposes.

No Reservation Based on Previous Caste Identity After Conversion

The Madras High Court ruled that the government cannot circumvent binding judicial decisions regarding the consequences of religious conversion through an executive order.

The High Court bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P.B. Balaji, citing an earlier decision, stated, “When a Hindu converts to Islam, he becomes a Muslim and his status in Muslim society is no longer determined by the caste to which he belonged before conversion.”

The High Court also held that the government order was arbitrary because it attempted to lump people from different reservation categories, such as Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, into a single Backward Class Muslim category.

The court concluded that a person cannot claim to be a member of the notified Backward Class Muslim community solely on the basis of conversion to Islam.

The High Court stated in its ruling, “On this basis, we conclude that a person who converts to Islam cannot claim the status of a backward class Muslim. He is simply a Muslim, and that’s all.”

Decision on Scheduled Caste status for those who convert to Christianity

This Supreme Court ruling comes just months after the apex court upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision that a person who converts to Christianity and continues to practice that religion cannot claim Scheduled Caste (SC) status.

On March 24, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria stated that “a person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism cannot be considered a member of a Scheduled Caste.”

The Supreme Court then clarified that adopting a religion not included in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, results in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court dismissed a review petition challenging this decision, stating that there was no clear error in the judgment that warranted reconsideration.