Supreme Court judgment opens up the religion-neutrality of OBC classification for debate

Supreme Court judgment opens up the religion-neutrality of OBC classification for debate left A view of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. File The Hindu The Hindu https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/dmxoq7/article71608295.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/6744_19_8_2025_16_9_6_4_18_08_2025_SUPREME_COURT01.jpg Vibha B Madhava Madhava_12403 The Supreme Court clarifies that non-Hindu communities can be OBC, but distinguishes between the sources of backwardness for Hindu OBCs and non-Hindu OBCs on the question of continuing backwardness for converts New Delhi The religion-neutrality of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) classification has been thrown open for debate after the Supreme Court’s recent decision that an OBC Hindu person loses the entitlement to reservation once they convert to another religion. While the Scheduled Castes (SCs) have always been identified by a religion criterion, and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) classification has never considered religion, and the OBC classification, since its implementation after the 1992 Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India judgment, has remained religion-neutral.