India’s Supreme Court Rules Religious Conversion Disqualifies Scheduled Caste Reservation Benefits

March 23, Kathmandu – India’s Supreme Court has ruled that individuals belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who convert to another religion will no longer be eligible for government-provided benefits and reservation privileges.

The Supreme Court’s verdict issued on Tuesday stated that any Scheduled Caste individual who converts to Christianity will not be entitled to any benefits or protections under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

This decision upholds a similar ruling previously made by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The Supreme Court’s endorsement of this ruling was reported by multiple sources.

According to the verdict, “If a person adopts and practices Christianity, they cannot be considered a member of the Scheduled Caste community,” further clarifying, “Only adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism can be classified under Scheduled Castes. Anyone who converts from these religions loses the protections and benefits provided to Scheduled Castes.”

A constitutional order from 1950 already states that individuals outside Hinduism cannot be categorized as Scheduled Castes. However, the full implications of this recent decision will become clearer once the complete text of the ruling is published.

It remains unclear how this decision will affect those who had already converted to Islam and Christianity prior to the ruling.