The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that conversion to Christianity or other religions results in the loss of Scheduled Caste (SC) status, holding that individuals professing faiths other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot claim constitutional protections available to SC members.
Upholding a judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan said that once a person voluntarily converts and practices another religion, the legal benefits linked to SC identity—including protection under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act—no longer apply.
The court endorsed the view that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 restricts SC status to specific religions, and that conversion outside this framework disqualifies a person from claiming such benefits. It clarified that the determining factor is the religion professed at the time of the incident, not merely the possession of a caste certificate.
The ruling came in a case involving a pastor from Andhra Pradesh who had invoked the SC/ST Act alleging assault and caste-based abuse. The accused argued that the complainant had converted to Christianity and was actively serving as a pastor, making him ineligible for SC protections.
The Supreme Court noted that the evidence clearly showed the complainant had been practising Christianity for over a decade and had not claimed reconversion or re-entry into his original caste community, rendering him ineligible for SC status and related safeguards.
The judgment effectively upholds the High Court’s April 30, 2025 decision, which had quashed the criminal proceedings under the SC/ST Act. The High Court had observed that caste-based protections are linked to specific social structures and cannot be extended after voluntary conversion.
It also clarified that the validity or cancellation of a caste certificate is a separate administrative matter, and mere possession of such a certificate does not sustain eligibility once conversion has taken place. (Agency)
