Scheduled caste status only for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs: SC

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court connected Tuesday said nary idiosyncratic professing a religion different than Hinduism, Sikhism oregon Buddhism shall beryllium a subordinate of Scheduled Caste. It held that a idiosyncratic from the Scheduled Caste assemblage mislaid the presumption aft converting to a religion different than Buddhism and Sikhism and could not invoke Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.A seat of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan said the barroom nether Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 was "categorical and absolute". It said conversion to immoderate religion not specified successful Clause 3 resulted successful contiguous and implicit nonaccomplishment of Scheduled Caste presumption careless of birth.The seat noted that Clause 3, which was primitively enacted successful 1950, restricted Scheduled Caste presumption to persons professing the Hindu religion only.

It was amended successful 1956 to see the Sikh religion and extended to the Buddhist religion successful 1990."No statutory benefit, protection, reservation, oregon entitlement nether the Constitution oregon nether immoderate enactment of Parliament oregon State Legislature that is predicated upon the rank of a Scheduled Caste tin beryllium claimed by oregon extended to immoderate idiosyncratic who, by cognition of Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is not deemed to beryllium a subordinate of a Scheduled Caste.

This barroom is implicit and admits nary exception," the seat said.The tribunal upheld the bid of Andhra Pradesh HC, which had quashed a lawsuit nether SC/ST(Prevention of Atrocities) Act connected the gro-unds that the complainant had embraced Christianity and could not invoke the law. With respect to Scheduled Tribes, the seat clarified that dissimilar the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 did not prescribe religion-based exclusion."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," it said.