‘Converted’ Muslims can get backward class benefits: HC

The HC also directed the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to treat the petitioner, Ayesha, as a backward class Muslim candidate and consider her for the post of typist, she had applied for earlier.

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The court came to the rescue of Ayesha after she was denied a government job, which she had applied for in 2014.

Making the argument that caste mark continues even after conversion, though the degree may be less in Islam, the Madras High Court has ordered that a Hindu backward class (BC) person, who embraces Islam, shall be considered as backward class Muslim. The court delivered the verdict on a petition filed by R Ayesha, a backward Hindu by birth, who embraced Islam.

The HC also directed the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to treat the petitioner, Ayesha, as a backward class Muslim candidate and consider her for the post of typist, she had applied for earlier.

The court came to the rescue of Ayesha after she was denied a government job, which she had applied for in 2014. Ayesha, a Hindu by birth, embraced Islam in 2005 and also obtained a community certificate of Muslim Labbai community, a recognised BC community in Islam as per a 1994 government order.

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According to her petition, she wrote the examination for “junior assistant/typist posts” in December 2014 and scored 153 marks. Later her application was rejected on the ground that she was not eligible for the post as she was not a Muslim by birth, forcing her to move a petition in the Madras HC.

TNPSC said Ayesha could have applied only under “others” category where the upper age limit was 30 years. She was aged 32 years, and thus not eligible.

Her counsel, citing a previous order from Justice D Hariparanthaman, who heard the case, argued the woman would be eligible if she is considered as a BC Muslim, and not in open category. The court, citing other judgments, directed TNPSC to treat Ayesha as a BC Muslim and accept her application.

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