On Tuesday, March 24, the Supreme Court of India said that only Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists can claim Scheduled Castes status. The Supreme Court stated that conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order by a Scheduled Caste member would lead to the loss of the reserved category status.
Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, mandates that only individuals professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be deemed Scheduled Caste (SC) members. This clause restricts SC status, meaning conversion to other religions typically results in the loss of reservation benefits.
The Court said, “No statutory benefit, protection or reservation or entitlement under the Constitution or enactment of Parliament or State legislature can be claimed by or extended to any person who by operation of Clause 3 is not deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste. This bar is absolute and admits no exception. A person cannot simultaneously profess and practice a religion other than the one specified in Clause 3 and claim membership of the Scheduled Caste.”
A bench of Supreme Court Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court’s ruling that a person who converts to Christianity and actively follows the faith cannot continue to be recognised as a member of the SC community.
Notably, on April 30, 2025, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had ruled that an individual who converts to Christianity and actively professes the faith loses their Scheduled Caste status and can not seek protection under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The case started when Anand, a pastor, alleged that one Akkala Ramireddy and others repeatedly assaulted him, issued death threats to him and his family and abused him on caste lines. Anand filed a case against them under the SC/ST Act. The accused challenged the case over the grounds that Anand had converted to Christianity so he can’t invoke the SC/ST Act.
Anand approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court which ruled that after converting to Christianity, he can not seek protection under the SC/ST act. The Court even stated that a Scheduled Caste certificate will also not help as the conversion nullifies the SC status.
After that Anand had approached the Supreme Court but the apex court also upheld the Andhra High Court judgment.
