SC: Social Backwardness Cannot Be Transferred From Hindu to Non-Hindu Social Order

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that a person's social backwardness cannot be transferred from the Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order following conversion to another religion, upholding a Madras High Court ruling on reservation benefits for converted Muslims.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government's appeal challenging the high court's verdict, which had ruled that conversion to Islam alone does not entitle a person to claim reservation under the Backward Class (Muslim) category.

Upholding the high court's decision, the apex court said the judgment called for no interference, thereby rejecting the state's challenge to the order that had quashed its notification granting reservation benefits to converted Muslims.

The ruling underscores that religious conversion by itself cannot serve as the basis for claiming backward-class reservation under the category in question.

The Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court against the high court's decision, arguing that the judgment raised substantial questions regarding the permissible scope of judicial interference in executive policy.

In its appeal, the state contended that the policy had been framed pursuant to recommendations made by an expert statutory commission. It maintained that the matter involved questions concerning the extent to which courts could interfere with policy decisions taken by the executive on the basis of such recommendations.

The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the state's plea on August 7 after hearing the matter. With Thursday's dismissal of the appeal, the Madras High Court's order remains in force.

The case concerns the eligibility of individuals who convert from Hinduism to Islam to claim reservation under Tamil Nadu's Backward Class (Muslim) category. The court's decision upholds the high court's finding that conversion alone is insufficient to establish eligibility for the benefit.