2 months ago
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The communicative truthful far:
The Supreme Court ruled connected March 24 in Chinthada Anand vs State of Andhra Pradesh that a pastor from the Madiga assemblage successful Andhra Pradesh could not assertion to beryllium a subordinate of a Scheduled Caste (SC) arsenic helium had converted to Christianity. The Court upheld the determination of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had reached the aforesaid decision successful an alleged atrocity matter.
Can a idiosyncratic of Christian religion beryllium SC?
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan laid down that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, intelligibly defines the parameters nether which SCs are to beryllium identified. A clause successful it says, “No idiosyncratic who professes a religion antithetic from the Hindu, the Sikh oregon the Buddhist religion shall beryllium deemed to beryllium a subordinate of a Scheduled Caste.”
The judgement holds that this barroom connected religion imposed by the Constitution (SC) Order was “absolute” without exceptions. The Court has said that the word “profess” successful the clause successful the Order “connotes to publically state oregon signifier a religion.” In its March 24 ruling, the Court said that the appellant “professes Christianity” — a religion not mentioned successful the Order.
“Conversion to immoderate religion not specified successful Clause 3 results successful contiguous and implicit nonaccomplishment of Scheduled Caste presumption from the infinitesimal of conversion, careless of birth,” the Court said. It added, “Christianity, by its precise theological foundation, does not recognise oregon incorporated the instauration of caste.”
The Court held that the infinitesimal 1 ceases to beryllium a subordinate of a SC by virtuousness of converting faith, “the nonaccomplishment of specified presumption carries with it the automatic termination of each eligibility for statutory benefits, protections, reservations, preferences and entitlements that are predicated upon oregon travel from specified membership”, including those nether the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Even though Chinthada Anand argued that helium had a caste certificate showing that helium belonged to the Madiga community, designated an SC community, the Court said, “Mere accumulation of a certificate cannot override the admitted information that the appellant is simply a practising Christian”. It besides said that determination was nary grounds to suggest that Mr. Anand had reconverted to Hinduism oregon that the assemblage had accepted him back.
Is this question new? What is the Centre’s presumption connected this?
The Court has addressed the question of SC presumption for radical from Dalit communities who person converted to Islam oregon Christianity. A petition to accord SC presumption for Dalit Christians and Muslims was filed successful 2004 and continues to beryllium heard today.
Over the years, petitioners person argued that respective communities had historically belonged to SC groups but had, implicit time, converted to faiths specified arsenic Christianity and Islam. Even though their prime of religion whitethorn person been led by the privation to beryllium freed of their caste, caste had entered their chosen faiths arsenic well. They person cited reports commissioned by the authorities from the archetypal decennary of the 21st Century supporting their presumption that Dalit Muslims and Christians should beryllium accorded SC status.
The Union Government has relied connected the Constitution (SC) Order, 1950, and argued that Dalit Muslims and Christians should proceed to beryllium excluded due to the fact that of the “foreign origin” of these faiths arsenic opposed to Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
The petitioners argued that the Constitution (SC) Order, 1950, had been amended archetypal to see Sikhism successful the 1950s and past Buddhism successful 1990, successful effect to a ample fig of radical successful parts of the state turning to Buddhism, heeding Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s call.
In October 2022, the Centre constituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by erstwhile Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan to analyse the contented of whether SC presumption tin beryllium accorded to SC converts to Islam and Christianity. The Commission’s deadline is acceptable for April this year.
What astir radical who person “reconverted” to Hinduism, Sikhism, oregon Buddhism?
Even arsenic the the Centre’s Commission of Inquiry is yet to taxable its report, pending which the Supreme Court Bench proceeding these matters volition proceed, the Bench of Justices Mishra and Manmohan, connected March 24, laid down the threshold for what counts arsenic “reconversion”, what is the load of impervious for this, and who this load indispensable autumn upon.
The Court noted that if a idiosyncratic of SC root claimed that they had “reconverted” to immoderate of the faiths mentioned successful the Constitution (SC) Order, 1950, 3 circumstantial conditions indispensable beryllium met “cumulatively and conclusively”. First, the idiosyncratic indispensable beryllium capable to beryllium that they “originally belonged” to an SC group. Second, determination indispensable beryllium “credible and unimpeachable grounds of bona fide reconversion to the archetypal religion”. Third, determination indispensable beryllium grounds of “acceptance and assimilation by members of the archetypal caste and acrophobic community.” The Court said that the “burden of proving reconversion lies wholly connected the claimant, to beryllium proven done unimpeachable evidence.”
In elaborating connected the impervious of “reconversion”, the Supreme Court said that this should beryllium accompanied by “complete and unequivocal renunciation of the religion to which conversion had taken place, full dissociation therefrom, and existent adoption and observance of the customs, usages, practices, rituals, and spiritual obligations of the archetypal caste.”
What astir Scheduled Tribes (STs)?
The Court said that for STs, determination was nary specified religion-based exclusion prescribed successful the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. “The determination of Scheduled Tribe status, therefore, cannot remainder connected conversion alone, but indispensable crook connected whether the claimant continues to person and is recognised for the indispensable attributes of tribal identity, including customary practices, societal organisation, assemblage life, and acceptance by the acrophobic tribal community,” the Court held.
The Court said that if a person’s conversion oregon aboriginal actions wholly interruption their transportation with the tribal mode of beingness and they suffer designation wrong the community, their ST presumption is weakened. Conversely, if the tribal attributes stay oregon are re-established and accepted by the community, the assertion cannot beryllium automatically rejected. Such cases indispensable beryllium evaluated connected a fact-specific ground by the competent authorization successful accordance with law principles.
Hundreds of ST communities profess Christianity, Islam, and indigenous faiths, specified arsenic Sarnaism. And portion determination are States specified arsenic Nagaland, wherever full ST communities whitethorn have, implicit time, converted to Islam oregon Christianity, determination are besides States specified arsenic Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, wherever determination has been a emergence successful Adivasi movements insisting that ST communities that had converted to faiths different than indigenous ones beryllium disentitled from getting statutory benefits meant for STs.
