The Supreme Court has ruled that a person who converts from Hinduism to Islam or another non-Hindu faith cannot claim backward-class reservation solely by relying on the social disadvantage attached to an earlier caste identity. The decision arose from Tamil Nadu's challenge to a Madras High Court judgment.
A bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar held that membership of a notified backward class must be established within the applicable legal framework after conversion. An individual's status before conversion, the court said, cannot by itself create a statutory entitlement under Article 16(4) of the Constitution.
The dispute concerned a Tamil Nadu government order issued in March 2024. The High Court had quashed that order, and the Supreme Court declined to disturb the result. The judgment also states that private religious institutions cannot decide eligibility for public reservation benefits.
The court distinguished automatic claims from fact-specific determinations. It said any asserted reconversion to Hinduism would require independent verification by the competent authority, rather than acceptance on the strength of a private certificate or a person's prior caste status.
