On May 24, 2024, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar delivered a 4‑hour judgment in the Supreme Court, declaring that a person who converts from Hindu backward classes to Islam cannot automatically inherit a backward reservation.
The ruling overturned a 2024 government notification issued by Tamil Nadu, which had allowed converts to claim Muslim backward category status and obtain community certificates.
Tamil Nadu's chief minister, M. K. Stalin, had argued that social and educational backwardness should not be erased by religious conversion, citing families who had benefited from reservations.
The bench emphasized that reservation is conditioned on membership of the Hindu social order, and conversion severs that legal basis, requiring a new, fact‑specific assessment.
Following the decision, the state will likely seek to amend its notification or file a review petition, while the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the appeal for September 12.
A resident of Chennai, 58‑year‑old Anil, whose family had relied on the 2024 quota to secure a teaching post, now faces uncertainty as the automatic benefit is stripped away.