How can we decide Pasmanda Muslims are backward? Supreme Court on OBC reservation plea

The Supreme Court today heard a petition filed before it seeking Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations for 'Pasmanda Muslims'. The plea filed by one Mohammad Waseem Saifi will now be heard in April 2026.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi briefly heard the PIL seeking 10% reservation for Pasmanda Muslims by sub-categorizing the OBCs in terms of the Ranganath Misra Commission report.

Appearing for Saifi, Senior Advocate Anjana Prakash told the bench that in India, there were three categories of Muslims: the 'Ashraf' (upper class) and the remaining two lower classes.

To this, CJI Kant asked, "At the cost of other poor Muslims, you only want to promote ...where is the homework on how many total Muslims are backward?"

"You are trying to say that one category of Muslims is backward and the other is not, how can we decide this?", CJI Kant further said.

Senior Advocate Prakash told the bench today that the plea can be heard by the Supreme Court with the long-pending case State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. v. B. Archana Reddy & Ors., in which a Constitution Bench will examine the constitutional validity of reservation granted to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh and decided whether a religious community can be identified as a backward class. In 2005, the Andhra Pradesh government had enacted a law granting 5% reservation to the Muslim community in educational institutions, and public employment. The legislation treated the Muslim community as a Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC). 

Supreme Court today allowed Prakash to file a brief note before it and listed the issue for further consideration on April 6, 2026.

The instant plea relies on the 2006 Sachar Committee, constituted under the chairmanship of Justice Rajindra Sachar, the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court which focused on Socio, Economic & Educational status of the Pasmanda Muslims in India.

"Nearly 80–85% of India's Muslim population, yet remain grossly underrepresented in education, employment, politics, and religious institutions, while Ashraf's dominate positions of influence," court has been told.

Saifi's plea further argued that Justice Sachar Committee's key recommendations were the establishment of an Equal Opportunity Commission to monitor and address discrimination against minorities, and the three groups among the Muslim Community (Ahsraf, Ajlaf, Arzal) require different types of affirmative action. As per the plea, the Ajlafs/OBCs, need additional attention which could be similar to that of Hindu-OBCs and the third group, those with similar traditional occupations as those of the Scheduled Castes, may be designated as Most Backward Classes (MBCs) as they need multifarious measures, including reservation, as they are 'cumulatively oppressed.

Case Title: Mohd. Waseem Saifi v. Union of India & Ors

Bench: CJI Kant and Justice Bagchi

Hearing Date: February 23, 2026