Person converting from Hinduism can’t claim reservation under backward class category: Supreme Court

Person converting from Hinduism can’t claim reservation under backward class category: Supreme Court

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2026: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a person’s social backwardness associated with the Hindu social order cannot automatically be transferred to a non-Hindu social order after conversion to another religion.

A Bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal against a Madras High Court judgment that held that conversion to Islam alone does not entitle a person to reservation under the Backward Class (Muslim) category.

Upholding the High Court’s decision to quash the Tamil Nadu government’s notification granting reservation benefits to converted Muslims, the Supreme Court said the judgment warranted no interference.

The Bench observed that conversion to Islam does not, by itself, make a person a member of any of the seven notified backward-class social communities in Tamil Nadu. A person’s former caste status cannot automatically be transferred to the Muslim backward-class category, nor can a private religious body conclusively determine eligibility for such status.

The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on August 7 on the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal challenging the High Court’s ruling.

In its appeal, the state government argued that the High Court judgment raised substantial questions regarding the permissible extent of judicial interference in executive policy formulated based on the recommendations of an expert statutory commission.