If a person converts without any faith just to get reservation benefits then it will be against the social spirit of the policy of reservation.
This decision was given by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court upheld the order of Madras High Court refusing to grant Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate to a woman.
The woman had sought this certificate for the purpose of obtaining a job in a higher division clerical post in Puducherry. She had claimed that she had joined the Scheduled Caste by adopting Hindu religion.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan heard the matter. He said in his judgment, “It is clear from the evidence presented in this case that the appellant follows the Christian religion and attends church regularly. Despite this, she describes herself as a Hindu and demands a Scheduled Caste certificate for employment. This double claim of hers is unacceptable and she cannot identify herself as a Hindu after being baptized.”
The court further said, “Therefore, giving the social status of Scheduled Caste to a Christian follower just for the benefit of reservation would be against the basic spirit of the Constitution and would amount to fraud.”
The court said that India is a secular country and every citizen has the right to believe and practice his religion under the Constitution.
Justice Mahadevan wrote in the judgment, “If the purpose of conversion is to obtain the benefits of reservation and not faith in some other religion, then it cannot be accepted because granting the benefits of reservation to such persons would be against the spirit of social policy.” “
In this case, the appellant C. Selvarani had challenged the order of January 24, 2023 of the Madras High Court. His petition was rejected.
She had claimed that she practiced Hinduism and belonged to the Valluvan caste, which falls under the Scheduled Caste. The woman had claimed to be entitled to receive the benefits of reservation under the Dravidian quota.
The court reviewed the documents and testimony presented by the woman and found that she was a born-again Christian.
Furthermore, the Court also made it clear that if Selvarani and her family truly wanted to convert to Hinduism, they should have taken some concrete steps. As if the religious conversion should have been announced publicly.
The Court also rejected the Appellant’s argument that she was baptized when she was less than three months old. The court said that this argument is not credible.
The Supreme Court said that if the family really wanted to convert to Hinduism, they should have taken some concrete steps in this regard. The court also said that evidence of baptisms, marriages and regular church attendance showed that she still practiced Christianity.
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