Supreme Court Bars Converted Muslims From Claiming BC Quota Based on Prior Caste

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Madras High Court order striking down a Tamil Nadu government notification that extended Backward Class Muslim (BC(M)) reservation eligibility to converts from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, and Scheduled Castes. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the state government's appeal.

The March 2024 government order had allowed eligible converts to seek community certificates under the BC(M) category to access the 3.5% sub-quota. The Supreme Court held that affirmative action benefits under Article 16(4) predicated on the Hindu social order cannot be claimed merely on the basis of pre-conversion status after a person converts to a non-Hindu religion.

“No statutory benefit, protection, reservation, or other entitlement under Article 16(4) of the Constitution... can be claimed or extended merely on the basis of such antecedent membership after the person has converted to Islam, Christianity, or any other non-Hindu social order.”

The bench observed that backwardness suffered in the antecedent social order cannot by itself be carried forward to confer membership of a different notified backward-class community post-conversion. It further clarified that conversion does not automatically establish membership of any particular backward-class community.

The court also reiterated that a person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism cannot be deemed a member of a Scheduled Caste. Consequently, such a person ceases to possess Scheduled Caste status upon conversion and cannot claim related affirmative action benefits.