Conversion beyond Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism ends SC status, rules Supreme Court
Supreme Court rules SC status is lost after conversion to Christianity; says SC/ST Act protection cannot be claimed post-conversion
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 24), upholding an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, said that only individuals belonging to the Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist faiths can claim Scheduled Caste (SC) status, and conversion to any other faith, like Christianity, will lead to automatic loss of the concerned person’s SC status.
No SC/ST Act protection after conversion
Elaborating further, the top court stated that in case a Dalit person converts to Christianity, he or she could not claim violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act).
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The observation was made by a bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice NV Anjaria. The bench noted that the matter has been clearly stated in the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, adding that the bar under the order is absolute. It clarified that conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order results in immediate loss of regardless of the concerned person’s birth.
‘Bar is absolute,’ court reiterates
"No statutory benefit, protection or reservation or entitlement under the Constitution or enactment of Parliament or state legislature can be claimed by or extended to any person who, by operation of clause 3, is not deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste. This bar is absolute and admits no exception. A person can't simultaneously profess and practice a religion other than the one specified in clause 3 and claim membership of the Scheduled caste," stated the Supreme Court as quoted by Live Law.
Pastor’s case and legal challenge
The order was issued following the appeal of a person who converted to Christianity and had been working as a pastor. But he filed a case under the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against certain persons who had allegedly assaulted him.
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The person’s claim of seeking protection under the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was challenged by the accused persons, who argued that the claim was bad in law as the pastor had converted to Christianity and was actively professing the religion.
AP HC had quashed FIR earlier
The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in an order on April 30, 2025, quashed the related FIR, stating that the caste system was alien to Christianity and hence barred from invoking the provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Harinath N of the High Court, following which the pastor filed a special leave petition at the Supreme Court.
Court cites continued Christian practice
"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 and has been functioning as a pastor for more than a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers at the houses of the village,” stated the Supreme Court.
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“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 for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian on the date of the occurrence,” it added.