He said the state government's order created a level playing field by preserving affirmative action benefits despite change of religion. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the respondent, the original petitioner, before the high court. His application was rejected by the tahsildar, prompting him to move the high court. "It prescribes the policy governing issuance of Backward Class (Muslim) community certificates to eligible persons who had embraced Islam from among the Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes. The high court, while striking down the GO, held that it was contrary to binding judicial precedents of both the Supreme Court and the high court.