Chennai, Oct 16:
DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its verdict denying reservation benefits to backward class individuals who convert from Hinduism to Islam.
In a post on X, Stalin said the verdict was against social justice, arguing that social backwardness was rooted in a social structure that had persisted for thousands of years and could not disappear merely because a person changed their religion.
The Supreme Court, comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar, dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal and upheld a Madras High Court order striking down a government order issued on March 9, 2024. The government order had permitted individuals from various backward and Scheduled categories who converted to Islam to obtain community certificates under the Backward Class (Muslim) classification.
The apex court ruled that conversion from Hinduism to Islam did not, by itself, entitle a person to claim BC or MBC reservation benefits solely on the basis of their caste status before conversion.
Stalin said the State government should challenge the verdict through a review petition and protect the reservation rights of people from backward communities who embraced Islam.
He recalled that the previous DMK government had adopted a resolution urging the Union government to amend the Constitution to extend reservation benefits to Adi Dravidars who convert to Christianity. He called upon the present government to continue those efforts.
Providing reservation to BC, MBC and Scheduled Caste communities that had faced caste-based oppression was essential to achieving social justice, Stalin said, adding that denying such benefits on religious grounds would amount to social injustice.