The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the centre’s response to a plea that the Dalits who have converted to Islam and Christianity from Hinduism, should be eligible for the same quota benefits that are reserved for Scheduled Castes.
The bench, hearing the plea over the issue of reservation, requested a response from the Centre within three weeks and gave the other side one week to respond thereafter.
Notably, during the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought an adjournment stating that the matter has been listed after a long time.
Meanwhile, advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner submitted before the apex court that if the Dalit Hindus are also provided with the reservation, then the Dalit Christians who are usually ‘better educated’ they’ll corner the recruitment.
Dalits converted to Christianity and Islam not eligible for reservation benefits: Govt
Notably, last year, the then Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in the Rajya Sabha that Dalits who had shunned their faith and converted to Islam and Christianity will not be permitted to contest parliamentary or assembly elections from constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), and will not be allowed to claim other reservation benefits.
Speaking on eligibility to contest from reserved constituencies, Prasad said, “Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order outlines that… no person who professes a religion different from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.”
Prasad clearly drew a distinction between Dalits embracing Islam and Christianity with those choosing to remain within the folds of Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism. In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru-led central government passed an order limiting the definition of “scheduled caste” only to members of the Hindu faith which was later extended in 1956 to Sikhs and to Buddishts in 1990.
In the past, Supreme Court, too, had upheld the caste benefits only to those belonging to the Indic faiths.