Andhra Pradesh High Court Seeks Response on Plea Challenging SC Status of Converted Pastors

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Central government, the State administration, and district collectors of West Godavari and Eluru in connection with a petition challenging the issuance of Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates to pastors who had converted to Christianity.
Justice Nyapathy Vijay directed the concerned authorities to submit detailed counter affidavits in the matter and posted the next hearing for July 6.
The petition was filed by P. Prasanna Kumar, president of the Scheduled Castes Rights Protection Committee. In his plea, Kumar alleged that several pastors in the two districts continued to hold SC certificates even after converting to Christianity, which he claimed was contrary to existing legal provisions.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, advocate N. Srinivasa Rao argued that Supreme Court judgments clearly state that reservation benefits available to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes cannot be extended to individuals who convert to other religions. He further alleged that certain certificates had been obtained through irregular procedures.
The counsel informed the court that details gathered through the Right to Information (RTI) Act pointed to alleged discrepancies in the issuance of caste certificates to some pastors in the region.
According to the petitioner, allowing converted individuals to continue availing SC status adversely affects eligible members of the Scheduled Caste community who depend on reservation benefits for education, employment, and welfare schemes.
The plea also requested the court to initiate action against officials allegedly involved in issuing such certificates without proper verification.
The High Court is expected to examine the legal and administrative aspects of the issue during the next hearing scheduled in July.