Protection Under SC/ST Act Not Applicable Post-Conversion, Rules High Court
Vijayawada: In a landmark verdict with significant implications, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled that persons belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) lose their SC status immediately upon converting to Christianity—making them ineligible for legal protection under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The ruling came during the hearing of a case involving Chintada Anand, a Christian priest from Kottapalem, Guntur district, who had filed a police complaint in 2021 under the SC/ST Act. Anand alleged that Akkal Ramireddy and others had verbally abused him based on caste.
However, the accused challenged the FIR in the High Court, arguing that Anand, a practicing Christian priest for over a decade, could no longer claim the protections meant for Scheduled Castes under the Indian Constitution.
Court: SC Identity Revoked After Religious Conversion
Delivering the judgment, Justice N. Harinath stated that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, clearly excludes individuals from SC status after conversion to Christianity or Islam. The court emphasized that the SC/ST Act was specifically created to shield Dalits and tribals from caste-based atrocities within the Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist fold, and that this protection does not extend to those who adopt a different religion.
False Complaint and Police Lapse Criticized
The court also took strong exception to the police’s actions. Justice Harinath criticized officers for filing the case without verifying Anand’s religious status, calling it a misuse of the law. Witnesses confirmed that Anand had served as a Christian priest for over 10 years, and the judge declared the complaint legally invalid.
The case filed against Ramireddy and others was quashed, with the court asserting that Anand had no legal standing under the SC/ST Act. The validity of Anand’s caste certificate, however, remains subject to administrative verification.
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