New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said a person who follows any religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be recognized as a member of a Scheduled Caste. The top court said that conversion to another religion results in loss of such status.A bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria upheld the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had ruled that persons who convert to Christianity and actively practice the faith cannot retain their Scheduled Caste (SC) status. The top court said the position is clearly laid down in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the bar on recognition is absolute.The court said that any person who does not profess any of the religions specified under clause 3 of the 1950 order ceases to be a member of a Scheduled Caste, regardless of birth. It states that such persons cannot, in accordance with live law, claim any statutory benefit, protection, reservation or right available to the Scheduled Castes under the Constitution or any law enacted by the Parliament or the State Legislatures. Emphasizing the scope of the law, the bench said a person cannot simultaneously practice a religion not listed in the 1950 order and claim Scheduled Caste status. “No statutory benefit, protection or reservation or entitlement under the Constitution or an Act of Parliament or a State legislature can be claimed or extended by a person who, by the operation of section 3, is not deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This prohibition is absolute and admits of no exceptions. A person cannot simultaneously profess or practice any religion other than the religion specified in section 3 and claim membership of a Scheduled Caste.”The decision came in a case involving a man who had converted to Christianity and was working as a priest but had filed a complaint under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act alleging assault and caste-based ill-treatment. The accused challenged the case, arguing that the complainant is no longer entitled to protection under the Act after converting to religion.The apex body found that evidence showed that the complainant had continued to practice Christianity for more than a decade and was holding regular prayer meetings at the time of the alleged incident.It said that there is no claim or evidence of re-conversion to their original religion or re-acceptance into their caste community.Agreeing with the High Court, the top court held that the caste system is separate from Christianity and, therefore, a person professing the religion cannot invoke the provisions of the SC/ST Act. It also clarified that mere possession or non-cancellation of a caste certificate does not entitle a person to claim Scheduled Caste benefits after conversion, adding that such issues should be dealt with by the competent authority under the relevant law.