Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who convert to Christianity cannot invoke provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act as the caste system is alien to the Christian faith, the Andhra Pradesh High Court recently ruled, reported Live Law.

The ruling came on April 30 while the High Court was hearing a case stemming from a complaint filed by a pastor, who alleged that he was assaulted several times by the petitioner.

The pastor alleged that he and his family members had received death threats from the petitioner. He claimed that the investigation in the case was complete.

The petitioner had moved the High Court seeking to quash the case.

“The SC ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is a protective legislation introduced for preventing atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,” Live Law quoted the court sas having said on April 30.

It added that the pastor had “misused” the Act as he had voluntarily converted to Christianity and was not entitled to invoke the provisions.

The pastor had told the court that he possessed a Scheduled Caste certificate.

In response, the court held that “mere non-cancellation of the caste certificate by the authority to a person cannot instil the protection granted” under the Act.

The pastor “ceased to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community the day he had converted into Christianity”, said the court.

Under Indian law, individuals who belong to the Dalit castes and follow Christianity or Islam cannot claim Scheduled Caste status. However, members of the Scheduled Castes who have converted to other faiths have long argued that they should continue to be counted in this category.

Some Ambedkarite groups argue that Christian and Muslim Dalits should not be excluded from the Scheduled Caste status because they continue to face discrimination since caste is a social phenomenon in India that cuts across religious communities.

The matter is being adjudicated by the Supreme Court.

Also read: Why proposed reservations for Dalit Muslims, Christians have sharply divided Ambedkarites