The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled that Scheduled Caste (SC) people lose their SC status the day they convert to Christianity. It has made it clear that they cannot get protection from the SC and ST Act. It has criticized the police for registering a case against several people under the SC and ST Atrocities Act based on a complaint filed by a church pastor.
It has objected to the misuse of the law and filing a false complaint. It has opined that the police should not have filed a chargesheet. It has quashed the case. Justice N. Harinath recently ruled to this effect.
Pastor Chintada Anand of Kothapalem village in Pittalavanipalem mandal of the joint Guntur district had complained to the Chandolu police in 2021 that he was insulted, attacked and injured in the name of caste. The Police registered a case against A. Rami Reddy of the village and five others under the SC and ST Act and IPC sections.
The trial of this case is pending in the Guntur SC and ST court. The accused had filed a petition in the High Court in 2022 seeking to dismiss the case. The petitioners’ lawyer JV Phani Dutt said that the complainant has been working as a pastor for the past ten years and this matter was mentioned in the complaint itself.
He clarified that the SC and ST Act does not apply to a person who has converted to Christianity. He said that according to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order-1950, those who adopt religions other than Hinduism will lose their SC status.
He reminded that the Supreme Court has ruled that Christianity does not recognize the caste system and that those who adopt that religion will not be protected under the SC and ST Act. He requested that the case be dismissed taking these into consideration.
The lawyer for Pastor Anand, while presenting arguments, reminded that the Tahsildar had given a certificate stating that the complainant is an SC. The judge, who agreed with the arguments of the petitioners’ counsel, ruled that the complainant cannot avail protection under the SC and ST Act and that the sections registered against the accused under the IPC are invalid.