Now Reading: Supreme Court reserves order on Tamil Nadu plea over Muslim converts’ quota
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Supreme Court reserves order on Tamil Nadu plea over Muslim converts’ quota
Supreme Court reserves order on Tamil Nadu plea over Muslim converts’ quota
The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a Tamil Nadu government plea against a Madras High Court judgment that said a person converting to Islam cannot claim reservation under the…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a Tamil Nadu government plea against a Madras High Court judgment that said a person converting to Islam cannot claim reservation under the Backward Class (Muslim) category solely based on conversion. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar heard the matter, with the state arguing that its Government Order (GO) No. 31 was intended to preserve affirmative action benefits for those who convert to Islam, based on the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission's report.
The high court on June 25 had declared that GO unconstitutional, saying it contradicted binding Supreme Court and high court precedents. The case originated from Sameer Ahamed, who converted from Hinduism to Islam in 2015 and was later denied a community certificate by the tahsildar. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra appeared for the state.
The Indian Opinion
Both sides wrap themselves in constitutional morality, the state citing expert commission reports, the high court citing settled precedent that caste does not vanish upon conversion. But neither narrative acknowledges the lived reality of converts who remain socially and educationally backward after changing faith. The real test will be whether the Supreme Court upholds the commission's empirical findings or sticks to strict legal doctrine. Watch for how the court treats the line between religion and caste in affirmative action.
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
