Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Striking Down Tamil Nadu Muslim Quota
· India · India Today, LiveMint
The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court ruling that struck down Tamil Nadu's decision to extend Backward Class Muslim reservation benefits to individuals who converted to Islam from certain Hindu communities. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the state government's petition, ruling that converts cannot claim affirmative action under Article 16(4) of the Constitution solely on the basis of their pre-conversion social backwardness. The disputed March 2024 government order allowed people from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, and Scheduled Castes who converted to Islam to receive community certificates under the BCM category. The court also noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950 restricts Scheduled Caste status to Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs, adding that reconversion to Hinduism would not automatically restore pre-conversion backward status.
Why it matters
This judgment clarifies constitutional boundaries regarding reservation benefits and religious conversion, impacting state-level affirmative action policies across India.
Read the original report — India Today
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