Can Scheduled Caste status be regained after reconversion to Hinduism? Supreme Court answers

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that a person who converts back to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism after adopting another religion may claim Scheduled Caste (SC) status again [Chinthada Anand vs. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.].

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan clarified that SC status is lost immediately when a person converts to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism.

However, it said such status may be claimed again if three mandatory conditions are satisfied.

The Court laid down three conditions that must be satisfied before a person can claim Scheduled Caste status after reconversion:

1. The person must prove that they were originally born into a caste listed as a Scheduled Caste;

2. They must show genuine reconversion to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism and clear renunciation of the religion they had previously adopted.

3. They must establish that members of their original caste community have accepted them back.

The Court made it clear that all three conditions must be satisfied, and failure to prove even one of them would make the claim unsustainable.

The ruling came in a case involving a man from Andhra Pradesh who was originally born into a Scheduled Caste but had converted to Christianity and was working as a Pastor.

After an incident in which he alleged that he was abused by caste name and threatened, he lodged an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The accused persons approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which quashed the case on the ground that the man, having converted to Christianity and working as a Pastor, could not claim Scheduled Caste status in law.

He then approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s decision.

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s view and held that a person who professes Christianity cannot claim protection under the SC/ST Act, since Scheduled Caste status is recognised only for persons professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism.

It accordingly dismissed the appeal.

At the same time, the Court clarified that if a person who had converted to Christianity later reconverts to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, they may claim Scheduled Caste status again, but only after satisfying the three conditions laid down by the Court.

The petitioner was represented by Rana Sandeep Bussa, Annie John, Wolf Chandra Paul Bussa, Divya Tomar and Shashibhushan P Adgaonkar.

The respondents were represented by Senior Advocates DVSS Somayajulu and Nachiketa Joshi, along with advocates Santosh Kumar, Tadimalla Bhaskar, Gautham, Alabhya Dhamija, Aditya Sharma, Aditi, Sai Shashank, Aditi Tripathi, Amrit Rathi, Chankaya and Gautam Singh.

[Read Judgement]