The top court upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order, which held that once an individual converts to Christianity, cannot be regarded as a member of the SC community.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that any individual who converts to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot claim Scheduled Caste status under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A Bench of Justice PK Mishra and Justice Manmohan ruled that only those individuals professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism have the right to claim SC status.
“No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be a member of Scheduled Caste. Conversion to any other religion results in loss of Scheduled Caste status,” the bench observed as reported by LiveLaw.
The Court noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, made this clear, and the bar under this Order was absolute. Conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order results in immediate loss of Schedule caste status, regardless of birth, the court clarified.
The top court upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order, which held that once an individual converts to Christianity and actively professes and practices the same, cannot be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste community.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by a man, identified as Chinthada Anand, who had converted to Christianity and was serving as a pastor. Anand had filed a case under the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Ramireddy and others who had allegedly subjected him to assault. He claimed protection under the SC&ST Act, which was challenged by the accused persons as bad in law since the pastor had converted and was actively professing Christianity.
Justice N Harinath of Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed the FIR on the ground that Anand had lost his SC status upon conversion to Christianity and, therefore, cannot claim protection under SC/ST Act.
The High Court also observed that possession of an SC certificate would not aid his case, as conversion, where caste distinctions are not recognised, nullifies SC status.
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