Tamil Nadu Challenges High Court Order on Reservation for Muslim Converts

The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court to challenge a Madras High Court order that struck down a state government decision allowing individuals from reserved categories who convert to Islam to continue receiving reservation benefits under the Backward Class Muslim category.

In March 2024, the state government issued an order stating that a person converting to Islam from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, or Scheduled Castes could be treated as a Backward Class (Muslim) for the purpose of availing reservation benefits.

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, however, declared the order unconstitutional. The court dismissed a petition from a man who had converted to Islam and sought a certificate identifying him as a member of the Muslim Lebbai community to obtain reservation benefits. The state has notified seven Muslim communities, including Muslim Lebbai, as Backward Class Muslims.

The High Court relied on various judgments of the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court, including in the case of G Michael vs S Venkateswaran. It observed that when a Hindu converts to Islam, he becomes simply a Muslim, and his place in Muslim society is not determined by the caste he belonged to before conversion. The court held that he ceases to be a member of any caste.

The High Court further noted that religious preachers have historically claimed that their religions offer social equality, unlike Hinduism which has caste as an inherent feature. The court stated that it is disingenuous, after taking such a stand for conversions, to claim that there is hierarchy in Islam as well. In its view, categorising certain sects as backward and others as forward is antithetical to Quranic injunctions, as Islam seeks an egalitarian society.

The court also stated that since the division bench of the Madras High Court in the G Michael case had already held that a convert to Islam becomes just a Muslim, it is not open to the state government to issue an order undermining that decision. The court said the state's recognition that conversion could be to any one of the seven sects of Muslims identified as Backward Class Muslims effectively did so.

The Tamil Nadu government's appeal before the Supreme Court challenges this High Court order, seeking to restore its decision to allow reservation benefits for Muslim converts from backward communities.