Conversion is not the sole criterion for determining whether a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe community has lost membership of the tribe, the Supreme Court has said.While holding that a Hindu Dalit’s conversion to Christianity or Islam would lead to “automatic and immediate termination of all eligibility for statutory benefits, protections, reservations, preferences and entitlements” meant for the Scheduled Castes, a Bench of Justice PK Mishra and Justice Manmohan on Tuesday clarified that the situation was different in case of the Scheduled Tribes.The Bench said the conversion doesn’t automatically result in loss of Scheduled Tribe status and the person must also renounce tribal customs.It clarified that no person other than those professing Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism can be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste. Noting that there’s a religion-based exclusion under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, it explained that there’s no such criterion under the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.This is due to the fact that ‘tribe’ has been defined as a social group where the members speak a common dialect, have a single government and act together for a common purpose, it said referring to the top court’s verdict in State of Kerala versus Chandramohan (2004).“The determination of Scheduled Tribe status, therefore, cannot rest on conversion alone, but must turn on whether the claimant continues to possess and is recognised for the essential attributes of tribal identity, including customary practices, social organisation, community life, and acceptance by the concerned tribal community. Where conversion or subsequent conduct results in a complete severance from the tribal way of life and loss of community recognition; the foundational basis for Scheduled Tribes status will stand eroded,” it noted.“Conversely, where such attributes demonstrably subsist or are genuinely re-established and accepted by the tribal community, the claim cannot be rejected mechanically. The assessment in such cases is necessarily fact-specific and is left to the competent authority to decide in accordance with constitutional principles,” the top court said.In its March 24 judgment, it upheld an April 30, 2025 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which held that the caste system was alien to Christianity and accordingly barred Dalit Christian Pastor Chinthada Anand belonging to the Madiga community from invoking the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, against non-Scheduled Caste Hindus of his village.