New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that members of Scheduled Castes who belong to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot claim Scheduled Caste benefits and constitutional protections if they convert to another religion.
The case arose from a complaint filed by Chinthada Anand of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, who converted from Hinduism to Christianity and works as a preacher. He alleged that he was assaulted and abused with caste-based slurs, following which police registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and filed a charge sheet.
One of the accused, Akkala Rami Reddy, argued that invoking the SC/ST Act was not legally maintainable because Anand had converted to Christianity. Accepting this contention, the Andhra Pradesh High Court held that the law is meant to provide protections to the specified communities and that those benefits cannot be availed after conversion.
Hearing Anand’s appeal, a bench of Justices B.K. Mishra and N.V. Anjaria on March 24 affirmed the High Court’s view. The court noted that a person who has openly embraced and actively practised Christianity for years, including serving as a preacher, cannot continue to be treated as a Scheduled Caste member for claiming such protections.
