A Hindu Dalit person converted to Christianity or Islam can’t claim the Scheduled Caste status and the benefits meant for the Scheduled Castes under the Constitution and various other laws, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.A bench of Justice PK Mishra and Justice Manmohan held that no person who professed a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism could be regarded as a member of a Scheduled caste and that conversion to any other religion resulted in the immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status.The bench, however, clarified that Dalits who converted back to Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism after adopting another religion may claim the Scheduled Caste status again, provided they fulfilled the conditions laid down by it, including the fact that they have been accepted back as members of their original caste community.The top court 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.The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 says that no person professing a religion other than Hinduism or Sikhism, or Buddhism can be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. However, Muslim and Christian groups have been demanding Scheduled Caste status for Dalits who have converted to Christianity or Islam, saying the restriction went against their fundamental right to equality, religious freedom, and non-discrimination.Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Mishra said, “No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This bar under Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is categorical and absolute. Conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 results in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status from the moment of conversion, regardless of birth.”It said, “No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This bar under Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is categorical and absolute. Conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 results in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status from the moment of conversion, regardless of birth.”After analysing the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, the bench said that for determining the entitlement of a person to be recognised as a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, “the claimant must demonstrably belong to a caste or tribe which is specifically notified and recognised under Clause 2 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, and such status must be established by clear, cogent, and unimpeachable evidence.”The top court sought to emphasise that “No statutory benefit, protection, reservation, or entitlement under the Constitution or under any enactment of Parliament or State Legislature that is predicated upon the membership of a Scheduled Caste can be claimed by or extended to any person who, by operation of Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is not deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This bar is absolute and admits no exception.”The bench said that a person cannot simultaneously profess and practice a religion other than the ones specified in Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and claim membership of a Scheduled Caste at the same time.“A person who professes and practices such religion for personal, social, and spiritual purposes cannot, in law, assert membership of a Scheduled Caste for the purpose of securing statutory benefits. The two positions are mutually exclusive and contrary to the Constitutional scheme,” it said.