The Allahabad High Court has ruled that if a person converts to Christianity, they automatically lose their original caste status, and therefore, they are no longer eligible to claim Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) benefits. According to the court, continuing to claim such benefits after conversion is not only illegal but also amounts to fraud against the Constitution. As a result, the court directed the Chief Secretary of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Principal/Additional Chief Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Social Welfare Department, and all District Magistrates in Uttar Pradesh to take lawful action within four months to stop such practices. In addition to this, the court also instructed that a copy of the order be sent to the Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India.
While issuing these directions, a bench led by Justice Praveen Kumar Giri rejected a petition filed by Jitendra Sahni, who had sought to quash criminal proceedings against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Instead, the court clearly stated that it is the trial court that must examine the evidence and decide the matter on the merits. Notably, a criminal case had been registered against Sahni at Sinduria police station in Maharajganj for promoting enmity between groups and for insulting religious beliefs. Earlier, Sahni had applied for permission to hold prayer meetings on his land based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and accordingly, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate granted approval on April 3, 2023.
Once a Hindu, Now a Pastor
However, following protests by members of the local Hindu community, this permission was withdrawn on May 3, 2023. Subsequently, in an order dated December 10, 2023, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate stated that Sahni had set up a tent at a public crossing and had urged people in large numbers to convert to Christianity, which eventually disturbed public order. Therefore, acting on a police report, a criminal case was registered against him. Thereafter, Sahni approached the high court seeking cancellation of the case, arguing that it was wrongly filed.
On behalf of the state, government lawyers argued that Sahni was earlier a Hindu but later became a Christian pastor. Further, a witness, Laxman Vishwakarma, alleged in his statement that the applicant used insulting language against Hindu gods and goddesses, which deeply hurt religious sentiments. On the other hand, Sahni’s lawyer denied all these allegations. Even so, the high court refused to interfere and dismissed the plea to quash the case.
During the hearing, the court also noted a serious contradiction in Sahni’s own stand. In fact, in his affidavit, he had described himself as a Hindu. Because of this, the court observed that under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, only persons belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist faith can be treated as members of the Scheduled Castes. Hence, anyone professing a different religion cannot legally claim SC status.
Moreover, the court relied on the Supreme Court judgment in C. Selvarani v. Special Secretary and held that claiming reservation benefits after religious conversion is a clear case of cheating the Constitution. Accordingly, the District Magistrate of Maharajganj was directed to verify Sahni’s religion within three months. Finally, the court added that if any false statement or fraud is found in the affidavit, strict legal action must be taken as per law.
