VIJAYAWADA: Those who change their religion will lose their Scheduled Caste (SC) status, ruled Andhra Pradesh high court. Dismissing a case filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the court said those who convert cannot claim protections provided under the Act from the moment they change their religion.
One Akkala Rami Reddy had approached the high court to challenge a case registered against him and five others by Chintada Anand, a pastor from Kothapalem in Guntur district. Anand alleged Reddy and others abused him using a caste slur. Police filed a chargesheet before a special court for SC/ST cases. Reddy requested HC to quash it and stay all proceedings before the special court.

The petitioner said the complainant claimed he had been working as a pastor for 10 years and that he had changed his religion voluntarily. The petitioner counsel Phani Dutt argued that Christianity does not recognise the caste system. He said there is no mention in the Constitution of the caste system in other religions. Also, those who convert to other religions from Hinduism cannot be considered as Scheduled Castes.
Justice N Harinath observed that when the petitioner had said he had been practising Christianity for the past 10 years, police should not have included SC/ST Act against him. The purpose of the SC/ST Act was to protect individuals belonging to those groups, and not those who have converted to other religions, the court said.
Justice Harinath noted that invoking the SC/ST Act based solely on the reason that his caste certificate was not cancelled cannot be a valid ground. Observing that the complainant misused the SC/ST Act, the court quashed the case against Reddy and others.