The Allahabad High Court has ruled that religious conversion does not automatically extinguish Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Whether the status continues, the court held, is a question of fact that requires the claimant to show an ongoing connection to tribal customs, traits and community life.
The court relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Chintad Anand vs State of Andhra Pradesh and Others (2026). It held that there is no absolute legal bar ending ST status on conversion. Scheduled Caste (SC) status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is different: it is restricted primarily to Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.
To claim constitutional protection under Article 342, the court said, an individual must prove that they have not severed their ethnic roots. This is shown through active observance of tribal customs, traditions and rituals, and acceptance by the community.
The court also addressed the weight of caste certificates. A certificate issued by an executive authority such as a Tehsildar is not conclusive proof, it held. It can be rebutted if later conduct points to a break from tribal identity, for instance complete social and religious assimilation into a non-tribal community over decades.
The ruling also reinforced the prohibition on land transfers under Section 157-B of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 (UPZA&LR Act) and Section 99 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006. Under these provisions, agricultural land belonging to an ST member cannot be transferred to a non-ST person, to prevent dispossession.
Article 366(25) of the Constitution defines Scheduled Tribes as such tribes or tribal communities, or parts of or groups within them, as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes. Under Article 342, the President notifies these communities, while only Parliament can amend the list.
Scheduled Tribes made up 8.6% of India's population in Census 2011. They are identified on criteria associated with the Lokur Committee (1965): primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the larger community, and socio-economic backwardness.
The Fifth and Sixth Schedules provide administrative structures that safeguard their land rights, political representation and traditional governance. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), under Article 338A, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, add institutional and statutory protection. The Act recognises historical land tenure and biodiversity conservation efforts.
Within the ST population, India officially categorises 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). These groups are characterised by pre-agricultural levels of technology, physical isolation and extreme socio-economic vulnerability.
With reference to the ruling of the Allahabad High Court on religious conversion and Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Provision : Subject
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Identify the category of communities on the basis of the following information:
