The Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled that individuals lose their SC status immediately upon converting to Christianity. Hence, they cannot seek protection under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act post-conversion.
Vijayawada – The Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled that a person who belongs to a Scheduled Caste (SC) will immediately lose their SC status once they convert to Christianity.
As a result, such individuals cannot seek protection under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
This important judgment was passed by Justice N Harinath while hearing a case related to Pastor Chintada Anand from Kothapalem village in Guntur district.
Background
Pastor Anand had filed a complaint with the Chandolu police in January 2021. He alleged that a man named Akkala Ramireddy and some others had insulted him using his caste name. Based on his complaint, police registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
However, Ramireddy and the others went to the High Court, asking it to cancel the case. They argued that Pastor Anand had converted to Christianity more than ten years ago and had been working as a pastor ever since. Therefore, they said, he was no longer an SC member and not eligible for any protection under the SC/ST Act.
Their lawyer, Phani Dutt, pointed to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and said:
“A person professing a religion different from Hinduism ceases to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community.”
Anand’s lawyer, Eerla Satish Kumar, responded by saying that Anand had a valid caste certificate showing that he belonged to an SC Hindu community. He said this certificate was enough to make him eligible for protection under the Act.
However, the High Court did not agree. Justice Harinath observed that after conversion to Christianity, where the caste system is not followed, a person can no longer claim Scheduled Caste status.
The court stated “The moment a person converts to Christianity, his SC status gets automatically nullified regardless of the caste certificate he holds.”
Justice Harinath said that the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was created to protect SC and ST communities from social discrimination and violence in the caste-based Hindu society. But if a person moves to another religion that does not follow caste, then the reason for this protection ends.
The court found that Pastor Anand had misused the law by filing a false complaint under the SC/ST Act. It was confirmed by witnesses that Anand had been working as a pastor for over ten years. The court also criticized the police for not verifying his religion before registering the case.
“The police have acted in haste and without proper verification of facts,” the judge said.
The High Court then cancelled the case filed against Ramireddy and others, saying that Anand’s complaint had no legal basis.
Justice Harinath said “Since the complainant has no standing under the law after conversion, the case stands quashed.”
The judge also said that even though Anand had a caste certificate, its validity would now be checked by authorities. However, the existence of such a certificate does not give him legal rights under the SC/ST Act after his conversion.
Case Title: Akkala Rami Reddy & Ors. v. The State of Andhra Pradesh & Anr. (CRIMINAL PETITION No.7114 OF 2022)
