'Social Stigma May Continue Even After Conversion' : Supreme Court Judge Says While Hearing Plea To Extend Reservation To Converted Dalits

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a bunch of petitions which seek the extension of reservation benefits available to the Scheduled Caste community to Dalits who have converted to Christianity and Islam. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Aravind Kumar was considering petitions which challenge the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order to the extent it excludes persons who have converted to Christianity and Islam, even while it includes the converts to Buddhism and Sikhism.During the brief hearing on Wednesday, the bench considered issues such as the relevance of Ranganath Misra commission when it has not been accepted by the Government. There was also discussion as to whether scheduled caste persons continue to face social stigma even after converting to other religions.The Court also pondered if the empirical date mentioned in the report of the Ranganath Mishra can be relied upon to decide the constitutional issues.Social stigma at ground levelWhen Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Union Government, submitted that the Ranganath Misra Commission had not gone into all the aspects, Justice Amanullah told him, “The Ranganath Misra report is not that perfunctory. You should go through the report again…You are making too generalised a statement on the report. “Re-phrasing the argument of the petitioners, Justice Kaul stated, “What they are saying is that the person is carrying a tag even when they move to Islam or Christianity.”Justice Amanullah added, “Social stigma and religious stigma are two different things. I may convert to a different religion for very different purposes. But if the social stigma continues, that is why reservation came in for the Scheduled Castes. Then why can’t the Court determine whether under the Constitution such compartmentalisation is permissible or not. At the ground level social stigma may continue even after conversion…We cannot shut our eyes when we are considering all these constitutional matters.”What was Ranganath Misra Commission report?The 2007 report submitted by the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, under the chairpersonship of retired CJI Ranganath Misra had found merit for granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit who had converted to Islam and Christianity. Last year, the Solicitor General of India, Mr. Tushar Mehta had informed the Apex Court that the Union Government does not accept the recommendation of the Ranganath Commission. Eventually, the Court was apprised that a new Commission headed by former CJI KG Balakrishnan has been appointed with a term of two years. The mandate of the Commission is to examine the matter of according Scheduled Caste status to new persons who claim to have historically belonged to the Scheduled Castes, but have converted to a religion other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders under Article 341 of the Indian Constitution. At present, as per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 only those who are Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist can be granted Scheduled Caste status. Initially it was only for Hindus, however, later by way of an amendment in 1956 Sikhs were added and in 1990 Buddhists were included in the list.Issues framed in the present caseAs per the order of the Apex Court dated 21.01.2011, the constitutional issues recorded by it are - Whether Paragraph (3) of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 issued in exercise of Article 341(1) of the Constitution of India, which says that "Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste" is unconstitutional and void, being violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution of India?Whether a Scheduled Caste professing a religion different from Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism can be deprived of the benefit of Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, in violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution of India?Whether non-inclusion of "Christians" and "Muslims’ in Paragraph (3) of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, along with Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, is discriminatory and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution of India?On a previous occasion, the Apex Court had flagged the issue whether the court should stay the hearings till the report of the Balakrishnan Commission comes or proceed on the basis of the materials already on record. On Wednesday, the petitioners vehemently argued that there is sufficient material on record to consider the constitutional issues raised in the petition. The Union Government averred that the Balakrishnan Commission’s report should be awaited. The other respondents raised several issues including that issue - whether the caste system can be imported into Islam and Christianity. During the course...

'Social Stigma May Continue Even After Conversion' : Supreme Court Judge Says While Hearing Plea To Extend Reservation To Converted Dalits

Sohini Chowdhury

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