Only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists eligible for SC status: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court said that Scheduled Caste status is limited to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, and is lost upon conversion to religions not listed under the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that only individuals belonging to the Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist communities can be recognised as members of a Scheduled Caste (SC). It added that a person who has converted to Christianity cannot continue to be considered a member of the SC community, reported LiveLaw.

 

"No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be a member of the Scheduled caste. Conversion to any other religion results in loss of Scheduled caste status," the Court ruled, as quoted by Bar & Bench.

 

The Bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria passed the order after hearing an appeal petition filed by a pastor challenging a verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

 

 

What is the case?

The ruling came after a man, who had converted to Christianity and was serving as a pastor, filed a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging that he had been assaulted by certain individuals. His complaint was challenged by the accused in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which held that the caste system is alien to Christianity and that he was therefore barred from invoking the provisions of the SC/ST Act, reported LiveLaw.

 

The order was later challenged by the pastor in the Supreme Court.

What did the Supreme Court say?

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s order, noting that only individuals belonging to the Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist faiths can claim SC status. It further clarified that converting to any religion not listed in Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, results in the loss of SC status.

 

In the pastor's case, the Bench said, "....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. It is also admitted that at the time of the alleged incident, he was conducting prayer meetings at the house. These concurrent facts leave no room of doubt that he continued to remain a Christian on the date of the occurrence".