New Delhi, July 8: The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court judgment that ruled individuals converting to Islam cannot automatically claim reservation benefits under the Backward Class (Muslim) category based solely on their conversion.

The state government, through its secretary, has challenged the high court's verdict, which struck down a Government Order (GO) issued on March 9, 2024, as unconstitutional.

The cancelled GO allowed individuals belonging to the Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC), or Scheduled Castes (SC) who converted to Islam to be classified under the BC (Muslim) category. It also enabled them to obtain community certificates under any of the seven notified Muslim communities to avail reservation benefits.

The matter is now before the Supreme Court for consideration.