India, March 25 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that conversion to Christianity and other religions results in the loss of scheduled caste (SC) status, holding that a person who professes a faith other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot claim the constitutional protections and statutory entitlements available to members of scheduled castes.

Upholding an Andhra Pradesh High Court decision, a bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan not only affirmed the quashing of criminal proceedings in a case registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by a man who had already converted to Christianity, but also laid down an authoritative framework governing the impact of religious c...