The Supreme Court on Tuesday reaffirmed that a person who converts to Christianity and continues to follow the faith cannot claim Scheduled Caste (SC) status.
A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice NV Anjaria upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling, saying the bar under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is clear and leaves no room for exceptions.
‘Cannot claim both’
The court said a person cannot simultaneously profess another religion and seek the benefits reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
“No person who professes a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste,” said the SC.
Case details
In this case, the appellant had converted to Christianity and was working as a pastor for over a decade, conducting regular prayers.
The court said the facts clearly showed that he continued to practice Christianity, and there was no evidence of reconversion or acceptance back into his original community.
“In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he reconverted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back in the folds of the Madiga community. On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity… These concurrent facts leave no room for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian,” the Justice Mishra-led Bench noted.
On April 30, 2025, the Andhra Pradesh High Court took a similar view, ruling that the petitioner could not seek protection under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after converting and actively practising Christianity.