Converted person ineligible to file atrocity case: HC

Amaravati: If a Scheduled Caste person converts to another religion, their caste status ceases to apply, and an atrocity case based on their complaint is not valid, announced Justice Harinadh of the Andhra Pradesh High Court while quashing a criminal petition on Wednesday.

According to the case, Chintada Anand from Pittalavanipalem village in Bapatla district, without any permission and in violation of regulations, was conducting a church, to which Akkala Ramireddy and others objected. Consequently, Chintada Anand filed a case against them under the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Seeking to quash the criminal case, Akkala Ramireddy and others approached the High Court. Advocate JV Phani Dutt, representing the petitioners, argued that since Chintada Anand earns a living as a pastor, he is a Christian, and as per Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, a non-Hindu cannot be considered a Scheduled Caste member. Despite being born a Hindu, Anand’s conversion to another religion means he no longer belongs to a Scheduled Caste, and thus, the provisions of the Atrocities Act do not apply to him, rendering the case non-maintainable. Furthermore, he argued that the concept of caste in Hinduism does not exist in Islam or Christianity worldwide, making Anand’s complaint legally invalid and its continuation a violation of constitutional rights.

Anand’s advocate, Satish Kumar, countered that petitioner holds a government-issued SC-Hindu certificate, making the Atrocities Act applicable to him.

Opposing this, Advocate Phani Dutt argued that a certificate obtained by providing false information to the government authorities is invalid, and filing false criminal cases based on such an invalid certificate constitutes gross misuse of the law.

After hearing both sides, the single judge bench headed by Justice Harinath ruled that a Scheduled Caste person who converts to another religion is no longer a Hindu and the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act does not apply to him. The High Court quashed the criminal case against Akkala Ramireddy and others.