A legal battle nearly three decades in the making has come to an end. The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition — pending since 1999 — challenging a constitutional provision that denies Scheduled Caste status to Muslims, holding that the question is already settled by binding Supreme Court precedent.
Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nivedita P. Mehta delivered the verdict Friday, closing a case filed by Mohammed Fahim Sheikh Ibrahim Qureshi in 1999. Qureshi had claimed “Bahna” Scheduled Caste status, but a verification committee found his school records listed him as “Muslim-Bahna,” rejecting the claim in 1998.
The case challenged Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which recognises only Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists for SC status. The court explained a 1985 Supreme Court ruling had already upheld this provision, and under Article 141, that binds all courts until revisited.
The broader question of Muslim and Christian exclusion from SC benefits remains pending before the Supreme Court, which on May 20, 2026 declined to transfer this matter, instead directing Nagpur to decide within four months without commenting on merits.
The court noted that if the Supreme Court later rules differently, Qureshi could still seek relief accordingly.
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