No reservation for OBC, Dalits who convert: SC
The Supreme Court of India ruled that individuals from Scheduled Castes or OBC backgrounds who convert to a non-Hindu religion lose their eligibility for reservation benefits. The court clarified that reservation is tied to a constitutionally identified class rather than personal entitlement, meaning social backwardness does not automatically transfer across religions.
Why it matters
This decision impacts the legal framework of affirmative action in India and sets a precedent for how religious conversion affects access to state-sponsored social welfare programs.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Thursday ruled a Scheduled Castes/OBC person who converts from a Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order will not be entitled to the benefits of reservation. The court held that reservation is attached to a constitutionally identified class and not to an individual as a personal entitlement, which can be transferred if a person converts.SC said backwardness suffered by the person in Hindu religion cannot be carried forward to the new religion embraced by him or her.The order came on a petition filed by then DMK-led Tamil Nadu govt challenging a Madras HC order quashing state govt's order to allow reservations for Dalit and OBC converts to Islam.As reservation is provided to some communities of other religions, which are recognised as backward classes in different states, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra…
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