The Madras High Court has struck down a Tamil Nadu government order that allowed people from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes who converted to Islam to continue receiving reservation benefits under the Backward Class Muslim category.
A division bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P.B. Balaji ruled that the order issued on March 9, 2024, violated settled judicial principles. The court held that executive orders do not hold authority to override binding judicial decisions.
The bench observed that a person who embraces Islam becomes a Muslim and does not acquire membership in any of Tamil Nadu’s seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities. Those communities include Ansar, Dekkani Muslims, Dubekula, Labbais, including Rowther and Marakayar, Mapilla, Sheik and Syed. The court stated that membership in these communities depends on birth and does not arise through religious conversion.
The judges referred to a 1951 Madras High Court ruling which reached the same conclusion. According to the bench, a convert to Islam belongs to the Muslim faith alone and does not become part of a birth-based Muslim community.
Instead of granting relief, the High Court ruled that issuing community certificates identifying converts as members of notified BCM communities lacked legal support. The High Court bench declared the order unconstitutional and dismissed Ahamed’s petition.