Big Setback to Dalit Christians Only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists eligible for SC status : SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a person who converts to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism cannot be considered as a member of his/her respective Scheduled Caste. The verdict was passed by a bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria, upholding an Andhra Pradesh high court order

The court ruled that only those individuals who are practicing Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism can claim SC status. The top court upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court's order, which stated that an individual who converted to Christianity and actively professes and practices the same cannot continue to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community. The judgment implied that a Hindu who converted to Christianity can't be regarded as a Scheduled Caste member and cannot invoke the SC/ST Act.

Notably, the Andhra HC on April 30 last year held that the caste system was alien to Christianity, and an individual who converted to Christianity and actively professes and practices the same cannot continue to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community and is consequently barred from invoking the provisions of the SC/ST Act .

Notably, the pastor, named Anand, alleged that some people repeatedly assaulted him on the basis of his caste. He filed the case under the SC/ST Act. However, the accused said that Anand had converted to Christianity and was working as a pastor; due to this reason, he could not get protection under the SC/ST Act.

The HC quashed charges filed by a complainant who had converted to Christianity and had invoked the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a criminal case. The pastor then moved the apex court challenging the high court decision.

The top court noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, has made it clear that conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order results in immediate loss of Schedule Caste status, regardless of birth, and this bar was "absolute".

"In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he re-converted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back into the folds of the Madiga community.

"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity and has been functioning as a pastor for more than a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers at the houses of the village," the apex court said.