NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a

ruling that a person who converts to Islam from Hinduism cannot claim reservation benefits under the Backward Class (BC) category.

A bench of Justices PK Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar observed that a person who moves from the Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order cannot claim such benefits.

The Tamil Nadu government had challenged the Madras high court order before the Supreme Court.

The high court had quashed the state government’s decision to recognise seven Muslim sects as Backward Classes, a move that allowed people from Hindu Backward Classes to be treated as Backward Class Muslims after converting to Islam.