The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, March 24, ruled that religious conversion outside Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism results in the cessation of Scheduled Caste (SC) status, holding that individuals professing other faiths cannot claim constitutional protections reserved for SC communities.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan said that a Dalit person who converts to Christianity cannot invoke provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “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 cessation of Scheduled Caste status,” the court observed.
The judgment came on an appeal filed by pastor Chinthada Anand against a May 2025 ruling of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Upholding the High Court’s decision, the top court said that once a person converts to another religion and begins practising it, the legal entitlements associated with SC identity come to an end. It agreed with the High Court’s interpretation of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which restricts SC status to specific religions.
The court made it clear that a Dalit who converts to Christianity ceases to be recognised as a Scheduled Caste member and therefore cannot seek protection under the SC/ST Act.
Importantly, the Bench underlined that the determining factor is the religion professed at the time of the incident, not merely the possession of a caste certificate. In the present case, the court noted that the appellant had been practising Christianity and functioning as a pastor for over a decade, including conducting regular prayer meetings.
Reiterating its position, the court said that individuals professing religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be regarded as members of Scheduled Castes.
The ruling affirms the April 30, 2025 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, delivered by Justice N Harinath, which had quashed criminal proceedings under the SC/ST Act. The High Court had held that the caste system does not apply within Christianity and that individuals who voluntarily convert cannot claim benefits meant to address caste-based discrimination within Hinduism and its legally recognised extensions.
The case originated from a 2021 complaint filed in Guntur district, where Anand alleged assault and caste-based abuse linked to opposition to his evangelical activities. Police had registered offences under the SC/ST Act and the Indian Penal Code and filed a chargesheet.
One of the accused, Akkala Rami Reddy, later approached the High Court seeking to quash the case, arguing that the invocation of the SC/ST Act was legally untenable given the complainant’s conversion. The High Court accepted this argument, holding that the law is intended exclusively for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and extending its protections to those who have exited that category through conversion would amount to misuse of the statute.
