New Delhi, July 9 -- The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras high court's judgment striking down a government order allowing people from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Denotified Communities (DNC) and Scheduled Castes (SC) who convert to Islam, to continue availing reservation benefits by treating them as Backward Class Muslims (BCM). The special leave petition was filed through advocate B Karunakaran. The high court, in its June 25 judgment, declared the March 9, 2024 government order issued by the then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government as "unconstitutional", holding that the state could not, through an executive order, override binding judicial precedents which have consistently held that a person who converts to Islam becomes "just a Muslim" and cannot claim membership of one of the state's seven notified Backward Class Muslim communities. A division bench of justices GR Swaminathan and PB Balaji said: "We hold that a convert to Islam cannot claim the status of Backward Class Muslim. He is only a Muslim and that's all there is to it." The seven communities recognised as Backward Class Muslims in Tamil Nadu are Ansar, Dekkani Muslims, Dubekula, Labbais (including Rowther and Marakayar), Mapilla, Sheik and Syed. These communities were grouped under a separate Backward Class Muslim category through a government order issued in July 2008 and are reflected in the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act....