No Reservation for Religion Conversion: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court declared religious conversions done merely to get the benefit of reservation, without real belief, amount to a "fraud on the Constitution". This is in the judgment of a case filed by C Selvarani. The High Court at Madras had earlier ruled that the scheduled caste certificate given to her on becoming a Christian was nullified when she later stated that she is a Hindu for getting the employment benefit.

As the verdict is by Justice R Mahadevan, who wrote the 21-page verdict, genuine religious conversion must be faith-based and not derive quota advantages. The court emphasized that if the purpose of conversion is largely to derive benefits of reservation without actual belief in the other religion, it cannot be permitted as it defeats the social ethos of the policy of reservation.

It dealt with the case of a female who had been born as a Christian, practised as a Christian, and attended her church regularly; however, she was claiming to be a Hindu to seek some reservation benefit. The Court said such dual claim to be unsustainable saying that she can no longer claim herself as Hindu after undergoing baptism.

The verdict of the Supreme Court is a reflection of the importance of true faith in religious conversion rather than using it as a means to access reservation benefits. This decision will prevent the misuse of reservation policies and ensure that they are used for their intended purpose of uplifting marginalized communities.

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