NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ruled that Scheduled Caste (SC) status is restricted to persons professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, and is lost upon conversion to any other religion.
A bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan held that the restriction under Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is “categorical and absolute”. The court said that conversion to a religion not specified under this clause results in the immediate and complete loss of SC status, irrespective of a person’s birth.
“No statutory benefit, protection, reservation, or entitlement… predicated upon membership of a Scheduled Caste can be claimed” by a person who is not recognised as SC under the 1950 Order, the bench observed, underlining that the bar “admits no exception”.
The court noted that when originally enacted in 1950, the order limited SC status to Hindus. It was later amended in 1956 to include Sikhs and extended in 1990 to cover Buddhists.
Upholding a decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the apex court dismissed a case filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after finding that the complainant had converted to Christianity and therefore could not invoke protections available to Scheduled Castes.
The bench also clarified the distinction with Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Unlike SCs, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 does not impose religion-based restrictions.
“The determination of Scheduled Tribe status… must turn on whether the claimant continues to possess and is recognised for essential attributes of tribal identity,” the court said, citing factors such as customary practices, social organisation, community life and acceptance by the tribal community.
