Only Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs can claim to be Scheduled Caste; conversion to any other religion scraps SC status: Supreme Court

Only persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist faiths can claim Scheduled Caste status and conversion to any other faith like Christianity will result in the converted person losing Scheduled Caste status, the Supreme Court held on Tuesday.

Thus, a Dalit person who converts to Christianity cannot claim violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act), a Bench of Justices PK Mishra and Manmohan held.

"No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be a member of Scheduled Caste. Conversion to any other religion results in loss of Scheduled Caste status," the Court ruled.

The judgment was delivered on an appeal filed by a pastor, one Chinthada Anand, against a May 2025 verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Anand alleged that he faced caste discrimination and abuse from one Akkala Ramireddy and others. He filed a complaint against them under the SC/ST Act and the police lodged a first information report (FIR) based on the same.

Ramireddy then approached the High Court to quash the case.

Justice N Harinath quashed the FIR on the ground that Anand had lost his SC status upon conversion to Christianity and, therefore, cannot claim protection under SC/ST Act.

The Court also held that Anand holding an SC certificate will not help his case since conversion to Christianity, where caste distinctions do not exist, nullifies SC status.

Anand then approached the Supreme Court in appeal.