- A convert has no reservation on the basis of old caste
- A bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the Tamil Nadu government's appeal
- Matter relating to Government of Tamil Nadu Ordinance dated 9 March 2024
Supreme Court Reservation Verdict: The Supreme Court has given an important judgment regarding conversion and caste-based reservation. A person who converts from Hinduism to another religion cannot claim the benefits of reservation for the backward class to which he belonged before conversion, merely on the basis of his previous social backwardness. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shri Chandrasekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government's appeal and upheld the Madras High Court's decision.
This case pertains to the Tamil Nadu Government Ordinance dated 9 March 2024. In which there was a provision to recognize Muslims from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Free Communities and Scheduled Castes as Muslims after conversion to Islam.
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No benefit of old status after conversion
According to the decision of the Supreme Court, a person converting from a Hindu social system to a non-Hindu social system cannot claim reservation under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India solely on the basis of his previous social backwardness. The backwardness suffered in the previous social order cannot automatically be carried forward to confer backward class status in the religion adopted after conversion.
Also, the Court referred to the Scheduled Castes Order, 1950. According to the third paragraph of its provisions, a person practicing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be considered as a member of a Scheduled Caste.
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Even after re-converting to Hinduism, there is no benefit
If a person reverts back to Hinduism after conversion, he is not automatically given backward class status. His eligibility for reservation cannot be determined solely on the basis of his previous social status.
The controversy surrounding the Sameer Ahmed case
In this case, a young man born as Param Shivam in a Hindu family converted to Islam in 2015 and changed his name to Sameer Ahmed. Later he also married according to Muslim customs and sought a certificate from the “Muslim Lebbai” community. This community belongs to the backward class of Muslims in Tamil Nadu. The Tehsildar rejected his application. Subsequently, the Madras High Court also dismissed his plea, declaring the state government's Ordinance 2024 unconstitutional. The state government challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, but the court rejected it.