No Relief in Review Plea: Top Court Stands by SC Status Conversion Verdict
The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition challenging its March 2026 judgment that ruled a person loses Scheduled Caste (SC) status after converting to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism.
A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan said it found no error in its earlier ruling and refused to interfere with the judgment. The Court also rejected the petitioner's request for an oral hearing.
In its March 2026 verdict, the Supreme Court had held that a person who converts to Christianity or any other religion outside Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism immediately ceases to be recognised as a Scheduled Caste under the law.
However, the Court clarified that such a person can regain SC status after reconverting to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, but only if three conditions are fulfilled:
The person was originally born into a caste recognised as a Scheduled Caste.
The reconversion is genuine, with complete renunciation of the previously adopted religion.
The person's original caste community accepts them back.
The Court had made it clear that failure to satisfy even one of these conditions would make the claim invalid.
The case stemmed from an Andhra Pradesh man who was born into a Scheduled Caste but later converted to Christianity and became a pastor. He had filed an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging that he was abused using his caste name and threatened.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed the FIR, holding that after converting to Christianity, the complainant could no longer claim Scheduled Caste status. He challenged that decision before the Supreme Court.
In its March judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court's ruling, stating that a person professing Christianity cannot seek protection under the SC/ST Act because Scheduled Caste status is legally recognised only for those professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism.
With the dismissal of the review petition, the Supreme Court's March 2026 judgment remains unchanged and continues to be the governing law.
