Supreme Court Rules Religious Conversion for Reservation as 'Fraud on the Constitution'

The Supreme Court declared that conversions conducted solely for reservation benefits without actual belief are unconstitutional. It upheld a lower court's decision denying benefits to a woman claiming dual religious identity. Genuine religious conversion must be faith-based, not for securing quota advantages, the court emphasized.

The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark verdict, ruling that religious conversions executed merely to gain reservation benefits without a sincere belief in the adopted faith constitute a ''fraud on the Constitution.''

Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan delivered the ruling on November 26, supporting a Madras High Court's January 24 decision. The case involved C Selvarani, a woman whose claim for a scheduled caste certificate was denied after she converted to Christianity but later declared herself Hindu to access employment benefits.

The court underlined that conversions should be inspired by genuine belief in a religion's tenets, rather than for reservation advantages. Providing such benefits to individuals with ulterior motives undermines the social objectives of reservation policies. Evidence demonstrated Selvarani's active Christian faith, rendering her Hindu claims unsustainable.

(With inputs from agencies.)