On October 15, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Madras High Court, which had said that while being a Hindu, no one can get the benefit of reservation under backward class after converting to Islam.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader Jawahirullah told BBC Tamil that the decision would make it difficult for children of people who converted to Islam to avail the benefits of reservation in education and employment and would affect thousands of families.
At the same time, Tamil Nadu's Minority Welfare Minister Shahjahan has said that the state government is committed to providing reservation to people who convert to Islam.
The state government is considering legal options, including filing a review petition against the Supreme Court's decision.
According to Live Law report, a bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Sri Chandrashekhar rejected the appeal of the Tamil Nadu government against the order of the Madras High Court.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Madras High Court, which had canceled the 2024 order of the Tamil Nadu government.
"Mere conversion to Islam does not make a person a member of any of the seven Muslim Backward Classes in the state. His previous caste identity cannot be transformed into a Muslim Backward Class identity. Similarly, religious identity alone cannot determine whether he is entitled to reservation or not," the judges said, Live Law reported.
The court also said that according to the Constitution, a person following any religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhism cannot be considered a member of the Scheduled Caste.
The court said, "The right to reservation for returnees to Hinduism cannot be decided merely on the basis of their previous identity. The facts of each person's case have to be examined."
MMK leader Jawahirullah says that due to this decision, children of people who have converted to Islam will not be able to get the benefit of reservation.
Speaking to BBC Tamil, he said, "We had met the ministers regarding the decision of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. At that time the ministers had assured that the 2007 law giving 3.5 percent reservation to Muslims would be amended."
He said, "The ministers had also asked us to submit the draft of amendments to be made in this law. After this, Justice Akbar Ali submitted the draft of the amendments. But the government did not make any amendments in the law."
Regarding the possible impact of this decision, Jawahirullah said, "Children of people who have converted to Islam will face difficulties in getting social certificates made. They will have to compete under the general category. They will not be able to avail the benefits of 69 percent reservation implemented in Tamil Nadu. Thousands of Muslim families will be affected by this."
69 percent reservation is applicable in education and government jobs in Tamil Nadu. There is a provision of 3.5 percent internal reservation for backward class Muslims.
However, the Supreme Court has said that a person converting to Islam cannot obtain Muslim Backward Class reservation on the basis of his earlier caste identity.
Due to this, there is a possibility of difficulties in getting social certificates made for those people and their children who have already converted to Islam. There may also be difficulty in determining eligibility for reservation in education and employment.
Sameer Ahmed, who fought the case in this case, told BBC Tamil that he came to know about the problem when he tried to get social certificates for his children.
He said, "When I tried to get a community certificate for my children, I realized that there was a problem for me in obtaining such a certificate. I had specifically asked for a certificate that declared me as a member of the Muslim Leppai community."
“The reason for this was that my two elder brothers were married into Leppai Muslim families. Moreover, the population of Leppai Muslims is more in Kaytharu area compared to other Muslim communities.”
Sameer Ahmed also criticized the attitude of the Tamil Nadu government in the matter.
He said, "After losing the case in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, the Tamil Nadu government appealed. But before that the government did not properly consult the religious leaders and legal experts. If they had been properly consulted, the government could have won the case."
Sameer Ahmed from Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, earlier name was Paramasivam.
He left Hinduism and adopted Islam in the year 2015. A notification in this regard was published in the Gazette in 2016.
They are married according to Islamic customs and have two children.
He later applied for a certificate of belonging to the 'Muslim Leppai' community, one of the backward Muslim communities.
The Tehsildar rejected his application, after which he approached the Madras High Court.
The Department of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare of the Government of Tamil Nadu had issued order number 31 on 9 March 2024.
This order had a provision to classify people from the Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes of Tamil Nadu who converted to Islam as 'Backward Class Muslims' and issue them certificates.
Under the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Muslim Act, 2007, there is a provision of 3.5 percent reservation for Muslims in educational institutions and government jobs in the state.
Under this, a government order was issued declaring some sections of Muslim communities as backward classes under Section 3(A) of Tamil Nadu Act 45/1994. It consists of seven communities.
1. Ansar
2. Southern Muslims
3. Dhunia (Dudecula)
4. Labbai, which includes Ravuthar and Marakaire. It does not matter whether their spoken language is Tamil or Urdu.
5. Mapila
6. Sheikh
7. Syed
The order also said that a person belonging to any of these seven communities can be given a 'Backward Class Muslim' certificate on the basis of religious conversion.
The High Court had canceled this order of 2024 of the Tamil Nadu government, declaring it unconstitutional.
The government had argued that the purpose of this order was to ensure that those who were already enjoying the benefits of reservation are not deprived of those benefits due to their conversion to Islam.
However, a bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and PB Balaji said the order was not in line with earlier decisions of the courts. After this the bench canceled the order.
The Tamil Nadu government appealed against this decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court and now the Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the High Court.
Meanwhile, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has appealed to the state government to immediately file a review petition against the Supreme Court's decision.
In a post on social media, he said, "Social backwardness does not arise in a day or a generation. It is the result of a social system that has been going on for thousands of years. This backwardness does not end by merely changing religion."
He said, "When the social reality is this, the Supreme Court's decision that there is no need to provide reservation to backward classes who have converted to Islam is against social justice."
Stalin appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to immediately file a review petition against this decision and to maintain the right of reservation for backward communities who have converted to Islam.
He also reminded that during the tenure of the previous DMK government, a resolution was passed demanding the Central Government to amend the Constitution. In this proposal, there was a demand to give reservation to the people of Adi Dravidian community who have adopted Christianity.
Stalin appealed to the present Tamil Nadu government to continue these efforts.
He said, "Giving reservation to backward classes, extremely backward classes and scheduled castes who face oppression on the basis of caste would be a step in the direction of social justice. Depriving this right on the basis of religion would be social injustice."
Apart from this, to remove the shortcomings of the Government Order 2024, issuing a new similar order is also being considered.
