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