November 28, 2024 - In an important ruling the Supreme Court has said that converting religion without actual belief or faith but done in order to avail reservation quota benefits amounts to a fraud against the Constitution. Such actions, it ruled, also undermine the social value of the reservation policy and would harm the social ethos of the reservation policy.

A Bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice R. Mahadevan dismissed the petition of C. Selvarani against a Madras High Court order, which had denied her request for a Scheduled Caste certificate from the district administration.

The Bench said that under Article 25 of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to follow and believe in the religion of their choice. However, if the primary motive behind converting religion is for quota benefits, such conversions cannot be allowed.

The Bench noted that in the case of the petitioner, the evidence clearly showed that she follows Christianity and regularly attends church. Despite this, she claimed to be a Hindu and sought a Scheduled Caste certificate for employment purposes. This dual claim was not acceptable, the Bench ruled.

C. Selvarani, born into a Christian family, claimed to be Hindu when applying for the post of Upper Division Clerk in Puducherry. When the administration refused to issue her a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate, she filed a petition in the Madras High Court. This was dismissed on January 24, 2023, following which she had appealed to the Supreme Court.

According to the petitioner, her mother was Christian and after marriage she converted to Hinduism. Her father, grandparents and great-grandparents followed Hinduism and belonged to the Valluvar caste, which is recognized as a Scheduled Caste under the Supreme Court’s 1964 order.

Selvarani said that she completed her schooling and undergraduate studies using the benefits under the Dravidian quota. The Bench, while acknowledging that the appellant's mother had converted to Hinduism after marriage, pointed out that she should not have baptized her children in the church. Therefore, the plaintiff's statement was deemed unreliable, the Bench concluded.

Source: Media Reports