NEW DELHI: Chief Justice Bobde said Wednesday that a plea for reservation for Dalit Christians would be heard soon. The Supreme Court will continue to hear the explanation and stand of the Central Government. The petitioners demanded that the reservation benefit for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes be granted to those who have converted to Christianity from these communities. The dalits who converted from the Scheduled Tribes should also be admitted as Scheduled Tribes.
The Scheduled Castes, despite their Christian beliefs, remain socially and economically disadvantaged. Religion does not change in backwardness. About 1.6 crore dalits continue to be in this predicament, lawyers for the petitioners explained. The petitioners pointed out that paragraph 3 of the Constitutional Decree for the Scheduled Castes of 1950 states, “Non-Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists are non-Scheduled Castes.”
This is a violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution. The petition stated that the reservation of Scheduled Castes for dalit Sikhs in 1956 and Buddhists in 1990 was amended by order of the President. If we accept the backwardness of these groups, the exclusion of Christians is discriminatory and unjust. The petition states that the provision of reservation of Scheduled Castes to all dalits is constitutional, irrespective of religious considerations.
