Overview
- The Supreme Court, which ruled Tuesday, said conversion to Christianity, Islam or other faiths not named in the 1950 order ends Scheduled Caste status at once and stops all SC-specific reservations and protections, including the SC/ST Atrocities Act.
- The case involved Andhra Pradesh pastor Chinthada Anand, whom the Court found to be a practising Christian, and it held that a caste certificate cannot preserve SC status once a person professes a non-listed religion.
- The judges restated that SC status can return only after reconversion if three things are proven with strong evidence: original SC lineage, a genuine return to the earlier faith, and acceptance by the caste community.
- The Court drew a line between the two constitutional orders, noting the Scheduled Tribes list has no religion bar and that tribal status turns on continued tribal identity and community recognition.
- Parties and groups split over the verdict, with Congress and Christian bodies urging a review as Hindu organisations welcomed it, and attention now shifts to the K. G. Balakrishnan panel expected to deliver its advice in April on SC status for converts.