Only Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs Can Claim To Be Scheduled Caste; Conversion To Any Other Religion Scraps SC Status: Supreme Court
Ritwik Choudhury (Bar  and  Bench) 24 March 2026
Only persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist faiths can claim Scheduled Caste status and conversion to any other faith like Christianity will result in the converted person losing Scheduled Caste status, the Supreme Court held on Tuesday.
 
Thus, a Dalit person who converts to Christianity cannot claim violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act), a Bench of Justices PK Mishra and Manmohan held.
 
"No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be a member of Scheduled Caste. Conversion to any other religion results in loss of Scheduled Caste status," the Court ruled.
 
The judgment was delivered on an appeal filed by a pastor, one Chinthada Anand, against a May 2025 verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
 
Anand alleged that he faced caste discrimination and abuse from one Akkala Ramireddy and others. He filed a complaint against them under the SC/ST Act and the police lodged a first information report (FIR) based on the same.
 
Ramireddy then approached the High Court to quash the case.
 
Justice N Harinath quashed the FIR on the ground that Anand had lost his SC status upon conversion to Christianity and, therefore, cannot claim protection under SC/ST Act.
 
The Court also held that Anand holding an SC certificate will not help his case since conversion to Christianity, where caste distinctions do not exist, nullifies SC status.
 
Courtesy: Bar & Bench
Comments
akbar
6 months ago
If the supreme court is so blind to what is happening on the ground, what hope does justice have in India? India keeps talking about becoming super power, this is a pipe dream and anyone with some level of understanding and clear eye knows how how far behind India is on every front. A super power becomes a super power by taking tough decisions. There is hardly one problem India could solve since 1947 be it poverty, large scale illiteracy, predominantly agricultural based workforce, unashamed or some times state sanctioned caste and religion based discrimination, broken justice system, non existent well funded primary education, broken health care, large scandals with corruption and women safety.
Jitendra B Parmar
6 months ago
Person of Indian Origin or Person of SC/ST/OBC will remain as per their social classification but if someone is being harrased in such manner , he/she/ Officials should be punished as per the Law of the Land and every victim has right to seek protection from such elements irrespective of their caste , creed or religion or resident status.
deepak.narain
6 months ago
What if a beneficiary of ST concessions converts to Christianity or Islam? Christians are very active converting people in our tribals areas.
akbar
Replied to deepak.narain comment 6 months ago
STs can voluntarily convert to any religion they want because historically they were not part of caste system. Deepak, you could do one thing, take more people like you and choke off their access to drinking water and they will come and sit at your feet. Try to do more practical things, writing on forums will only expose you more. Goodluck and become very rich!
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback