The Allahabad High Court (AHC) in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh ruled on Feb. 10 that caste, determined by birth, remains unchanged despite religious conversion or inter-caste marriage.
This ruling was delivered by the AHC while hearing a criminal case involving an assault against a woman under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The woman belonged to the Scheduled Caste, but her husband was part of a non-Scheduled Caste.
This ruling is also expected to be of paramount significance for millions of Indian Christians who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Castes (OBC) categories in the coming days.
All Indians are grouped according to their caste – a rigid system of social stratification where a person’s social status, occupation, and marriage prospects are determined by their birth into a hereditary group, with little to no social mobility.
These groups are ranked hierarchically, with strict rules of engagement between them, and are linked to occupations and customs.
This caste system plays an important role in virtually all spheres of life. The membership is fixed at birth and passed down through generations. Most marriages typically occur within the same caste.
Governed by customs, with restrictions on social mixing, the castes are arranged in a ranked order, defining status and power. The caste defines specific jobs they can take up.
The woman in the recent court case filed a criminal complaint against nine men, alleging that she was assaulted and abused and that the assailants used caste-like slurs against her during the altercation. She also alleged that she and two others were injured in the assault.
Challenging the summoning order by a special court, the defendants argued that while the victim originally belonged to the SC/ST community by birth, she lost her caste status after she married a man belonging to the Jat community (non-SC caste).
The Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are officially designated, socio-economically disadvantaged groups in India, identified under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution for affirmative action, including educational and job reservations. SCs (Dalits) were historically marginalised by untouchability, while STs (Adivasis) are indigenous communities with distinct cultures often residing in remote areas.
In addition to providing reservations for these communities, a special law has been enacted to protect them. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, prohibits offenses against these communities and provides for special courts to try such offenses.
In July 2022, the Special Judge, SC/ST Act, Aligarh, summoned the accused to face trial for offenses under Sections 323, 506, 452, and 354 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(1)(R) of the SC/ST Act.
On Feb. 10, Justice Anil Kumar of the AHC dismissed a criminal appeal filed by the accused challenging the order passed by the special judge.
This ruling contrasts with other Indian courts that have consistently maintained that the reservation or protection is not for those who have left Hinduism and become Christians.
The same AHC, last year, directed the state’s district magistrates to identify those who have converted yet continue to reap the benefits of SC status, deeming it a “fraud on the Constitution.” This matter was also reported by ICC.
Editorials in right-wing media, which are supportive of the Hindu nationalism narrative, have castigated the February ruling of the AHC, saying the judgment could introduce new challenges for a developing India and carry extensive outcomes, particularly in relation to the Hindu SC/ST community.
One editorialist said, “This situation (based on the AHC ruling) will also be exploited by the vested interest groups, and several will jump ship to switch religious allegiances as per convenience, thus defeating the whole purpose of the law.”