'Fraud on Constitution; No Caste System In Christianity': Allahabad HC Directs Statewide Probe Into Converts Retaining SC Status

In a significant order, the Allahabad High Court has issued a sweeping direction to the entire administrative machinery of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that individuals in the state who have converted to Christianity do not continue to avail benefits meant for Scheduled Castes (SC). Observing that the retention of SC status after conversion amounts to a "fraud on the Constitution", the Court has set a strict deadline of four months for all District Magistrates in the state to act in accordance with the law to identify and prevent such occurrences. The directions were passed by a bench of Justice Praveen Kumar Giri while dismissing an application filed by one Jitendra Sahani who has been accused of mocking Hindu deities and promoting enmity. Briefly put, the bench was dealing with a quashing plea filed by Sahani pertaining to a charge sheet and cognizance order issued against him under Sections 153-A and 295-A IPC. While the applicant's counsel argued that Sahani had merely sought permission to preach the "words of Jesus Christ" on his own land and was being falsely implicated, the State's submission referred to a stark contradiction about his religion. The Court noted that while Sahani described his religion as 'Hindu' in the affidavit filed in support of his application, the police investigation revealed a contrary picture. Essentially, the Additional Government Advocate drew the Court's attention to the statement of a witness recorded under Section 161 CrPC who testified that Sahani, who originally belonged to the Kewat community, had converted to Christianity and was functioning as a 'Padri' (Priest).He also alleged that on allurement to poor people, he wants to convert the persons of Hindu religion as Christians Taking serious note of the same, the High Court reproduced the witness statement in the order wherein Sahani was accused of gathering villagers and using filthy, abusive and absurd language about Hindu deities to encourage conversion. The witness further alleged that Sahani mocked Hindu beliefs, telling villagers: "You people have been following the Hindu religion for centuries...It has thousands of gods and goddesses; someone has eight hands, someone has four, someone has a trunk on their face...someone rides a mouse, someone rides a peacock...someone drinks bhang, someone smokes ganja". The witness further alleged that Sahani ridiculed the Hindu faith by claiming it offered no respect due to caste hierarchies, whereas embracing Christianity would lead to jobs, business growth and financial benefits from the 'missionary'. Taking into account the legal status of converts as per the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, Justice Giri noted that under Paragraph 3 of the Order, no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism can be deemed a member of a Scheduled Caste. The Court placed heavy reliance on the recent Supreme Court judgment in C. Selvarani v. Special Secretary-cum-District Collector 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 923 wherein the Apex Court had held that an individual ceases to belong to their original caste upon conversion to Christianity. In this case, the top court had categorically said that religious conversion for the sole purpose of availing benefits is seen as a fraud on the Constitution and contrary to the ethos of reservation policies. Furthermore, the HC also referred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court's 2025 ruling in Akkala Rami Reddy v. State of A.P., wherein it was ruled that an individual, who converted to Christianity and actively professes and practices the same, cannot continue to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community and is consequently barred from invoking the provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Therefore, moving beyond the present case, Justice Giri issued sweeping directions to the highest levels of the bureaucracy to ensure the law is executed in its 'true sense'. The Court directed the Cabinet Secretary (Government of India) and the Chief Secretary (Government of UP) to look into the matter of Scheduled Castes and the provisions of law. Further, the Principal Secretary of the Minorities Welfare Department was directed to take appropriate action to ensure that the distinction between minority status and Scheduled Caste status is strictly enforced. Most significantly, the Court directed All the District Magistrates of State of U.P. to act in accordance with the law within four months. They have been instructed to communicate their actions to the Chief Secretary to ensure that the "fraud on the Constitution", as observed by the Supreme Court, does not occur in their areas. Regarding the applicant (Sahani), the Court took serious note of his misleading affidavit and directed the DM, Maharajganj, to enquire into his religion within three months. The Court ordered that if...

'Fraud on Constitution; No Caste System In Christianity': Allahabad HC Directs Statewide Probe Into Converts Retaining SC Status

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'Fraud on Constitution; No Caste System In Christianity': Allahabad HC Directs Statewide Probe Into Converts Retaining SC Status

Sparsh Upadhyay

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