The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the Scheduled Caste status is available only to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists and that conversion to any other religion will result in “immediate and complete loss of” the caste “status from the moment of conversion regardless of birth”. “No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. Conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 results in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status from the moment of conversion regardless of birth,” it said. The court said that “Christianity, by its very theological foundation, does not recognise or incorporate the institution of caste”. However, the SC said that Clause 2 of the said government order states that only “non-statutory concessions’’ are being extended to Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity and Buddhism.

Source: Indian Express March 25, 2026 15:18 UTC