ivil Appeal No 562 of 1964
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated  February 7 8 1963 of the Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench at Nagpur in Appeal No 115 of 1962
M C Setalvad N L Belekar R D Awade and A G Rat naparkhi for the appellant
N C Chatterjee V section Sawhney section section Khanduja section K Manchanda and Ganpat Rai for respondent No 1 850 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Mudholkar J
The question which arises for consideration in this appeal by special leave from the judgment of the Bombay High Court is whether respondent No 1 Dr D P Meshrarn was entitled to be a candidate for election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from constituency No 190 of Nagpur III a constituency reserved for candidates from scheduled castes
The appellant and respondents 1 to 4 were candidates duly nominated for election to the Assembly from the aforesaid constituency
The poll was taken on February 27 1962 and respondent No 1 who had polled the highest number of votes was declared elected
The appellant thereupon preferred an election petition before the Election Commission the main allegations in which were a that respondent No 1 having embraced Buddhism on March 17 1957 had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled Caste within the meaning of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order 1950 and was thus disentitled from being a candidate for the particular seat and b that respondent No 1 was guilty of several corrupt practices
The Tribunal held that the Corrupt practices alleged against respondent No 1 were not established
It however came to the conclusion that respondent No 1 had embraced Buddhism as alleged by the appellant and was therefore not eligible for being a candidate for election from the reserved constituency
Upon this ground the Tribunal set aside the election of respondent No 1
It may be mentioned that the appellant had made a further prayer to the effect that he should be declared elected to the seat but this prayer was not granted by the Tribunal on the ground that he was not the only other candidate for election and therefore it cannot be said how the votes which respondent No 1 had secured would have been distributed among the remaining candidates
Aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal respondent No 1 preferred an appeal before the High Court of Bombay
The only question which was urged before the High Court was regarding the alleged conversion of respondent No 1 to Buddhism
On that question the High Court reversed the finding of the Tribunal and held that the fact had not been established by evidence
The High Court therefore upheld the election of respondent No 1
In support of his contention that respondent No 1 was con verted to Buddhism on March 17 1957 the appellant had adduced evidence of PW 9 Ramrattan Janorkar PW 2 Akant 851 Mate PW 5 Devaji Bhagat and PW 10 Wasudeo Dongre
Ramrattan who claims to be a Buddha has said that he presided over a meeting held at Lashkari Bagh Nagpur two or three days after the Holi festival of the year 1957 at which a mass conversion of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes to Buddhism took place
He named ten persons who according to him had been converted at that meeting one of them being respondent No 1
Amongst others named by him were PW 2 Akant Mate PW 5 Devaji Bhagat and PW 10 Wasudeo Dongre
These three persons have corroborated the evidence of Ramrattan
We have been taken through the evidence of these witnesses and though there may be some contradictions on minor points on the whole their evidence is consistent and has a ring of truth in it
Moreover the Tribunal which heard and saw the witnesses depose has believed in their veracity
The High Court has however not chosen to accept their evidence mainly on the ground that these witnesses belong to a party which is opposed to respondent No 1 and his party
It is not disputed before us that these witnesses as well as respondent No 1 were members of the Republican Party of India founded by the late Dr Ambedkar and that some time after his death there was rift in the party as a result of which two groups were formed
The leader of one of these groups in Haridas Awade and that of the other is Khobargade
Respondent No 1 belongs to the group headed by Khobargade while the appellant and the witnesses belong to the other group
We agree with the High Court that we should not lose sight of this fact
In our opinion however there are good grounds for accepting the evidence
In the first place there is the fact which is admitted by respondent No 1 himself that a mass conversion of a very large number of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes to Buddhism took place at Nagpur on October 14 1956 at a meeting which was presided over by Dr Ambedkar
What took place at that meeting is set out in exhibit 66 which gives an account of the proceedings
It says that about 5 lakhs of persons attended the meeting
At that meeting Dr Ambedkar was present along with Rev Mahesthavir Chandramani who is a Bhikku
The Bhikku made Dr Ambedkar and Mrs Ambedkar recite the three refuges Thrisathi and five precepts in Pali after which both of them garlanded the idol of Lord Buddha which had been installed in the pandal where Dr and Mrs Ambedkar the Bhikku and other prominent people were sitting
Dr and Mrs Ambed 165 11 852 kar then took 22 vows which apparently he had himself prepared
Thereafter the mass ordination took place at which those who wished to be converted recited the three refuges three times
This event had attracted attention throughout the country and was given wide publicity by the press which was well represented at the meeting
Respondent No 1 has admitted that he was a member of Dr Ambedkar s party at that time and though he could not attend the conversion ceremony he had not dissociated himself from it
According to him the reason why he did not attend thee ceremony was that he was then busy with making arrangements at the water works
for the supply of water to the lakhs of people most of whom had come from the neighbouring villages to attend the ceremony
It is in the evidence of witnesses that at least lakhs of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes were converted to Buddhism at that meeting and that the work of conversion went on even after October 14 1956 for quite some time
Another factor to be borne in mind is that prominent persons belonging to there Scheduled Castes were converted to Buddhism and it would be highly improbable that respondent No 1 who was a prominent member of the
Scheduled Castes in Nagpur and a follower of Dr Ambedkar would have remained aloof from the movement started by Dr Ambedkar
The main object of Dr Ambedkar was to secure for the members of the Scheduled Castes an honorable place in society and he felt that the various disabilities placed upon members of these castes were due to the fact that in Hindu religion to which they belonged they had been accorded the lowest rank in society with the result that they had come to be regarded as untouchables
Undoubtedly the caste system has virtually come to be regarded as an essential feature of Hindu society and therefore Dr Ambedkar felt that the only way open to members belonging to the lowest group was to sever their connection completely from such a society
He found that Buddhism the way or path of peace not only offered solace to the spirit but also social equality to all its members
Dr Ambedkar was the unquestioned leader of the Scheduled Castes at any rate in Maharashtra
It would therefore not be unreasonable to infer that those who had accepted his leadership and those who in addition held prominent places amongst people belonging to the Scheduled Castes should follow Dr Ambedkar and renouncing Hinduism embrace like him Buddhism
If this probability is borne in mind the evidence of the witnesses who have deposed to the fact of the actual conversion of respondent No 1 to Buddhism would become more easily acceptable
853 That however is not all
Corroboration of this evidence was sought to be supplied by the appellant from the conduct of respondent No 1 subsequent to his conversion
For this purpose he has relied upon three matters One is the signing of a declaration by respondent No 1 along with some other persons to the effect that he had embraced Buddhism and that he therefore ceased to be any longer a member of the Scheduled Castes the second is a wedding invitation subscribed to amongst_others by respondent No 1 on which the picture of Lord Buddha is inscribed and the third is the conversion of a Shiva temple situate near the appellant s house to a Buddha temple
The declaration is exhibit 42 and is dated July 5 1957
It is to the following effect To whomsoever it may concern We the following signatories do hereby affirm that we embraced Buddha religion on 17 3 1957 and no longer since remain Harijans
 Then follow the names of ten persons including PW 2 Akant Mate PW 5 Devaji Bhagat and PW 10 Dongre
Each of them has signed therein against his name
The reason why this declaration came into existence is according to the appellant the following Elections had taken place to the Nagpur Corporation and a meeting was held on July 5 1957 for selection of six additional members
One of the Corporators Mr Udhoji raised a point of order to the effect that no member of the Scheduled Castes having been elected to the Corporation a person belonging to the Scheduled Castes was required to be selected under the provisions of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Act
Respondent No 1 was one of the persons who had already been elected to the Corporation and was present at the meeting
He however did not contest the statement of Mr Udhoji to the effect that no person belonging to the Scheduled Castes had been elected
Apparently the point of order was disallowed and selection of six members none of whom belonged to the Scheduled Castes took place
Immediately thereafter the declaration referred to above was signed by ten persons including respondent No 1 who had all been elected as members of the Municipal Corporation at the Corporation election
This was filed along with the writ petition presented before the High Court in which the selection made at the meeting of July 5 was sought to be quashed on the ground 854 that no person belonging to a Scheduled Caste had been selected
Respondent No1 admits that he did sign this declaration but in his written statement the reason given by him is that he did so under political pressure
In his evidence however he has given a different explanation
This is what he has said  Akant Mate came there with some writing and told us that it was the directive of the Scheduled Castes Federation that members elected on its tickets should sign it
I do not know how he got that directive from the Federation and from whom he got it
The writing was in English and I signed upon it
Akant Mate told me that I should sign on the document he would go and get signatures of other Corporators and give it in the Corporation office
I could not myself read the English typewritten material
Akant Mate told me that the President of the meeting gave the ruling in the information by the Commissioner that I and Mate  were members of the Scheduled Caste and that if this were not so we would be able to get one more member and therefore I should sign on the document
My consent was not taken for filing the declaration in the High Court
I was not a party to the proceedings in the High Court in connection with which the declaration was taken
 What he has said is in substance that he was duped by Akant Mate
There is thus a variation between his pleading and the proof adduced and in the circumstances we will be justified in rejecting his explanation
Once the explanation is rejected the declaration must be taken into account as a piece of corroboration of the fact that he had ceased to be a Hindu as he had been converted to Buddhism
Respondent No 1 does not deny that the wedding invitation placed on record by the appellant bears his name as one of the hosts
The invitation pertains to the wedding of his daughters Lalita and Pushpa Lata and their respective bridegrooms were Sirish and Yashwant Rao
At the top of the invitation are the usual words Subh Langna auspicious wedding
Then there is a picture of Lord Buddha followed by the inscription May victory and prosperity by yours Obeisances to Buddha
It is well known that in Hindu weddings the invitations issued in an Indian language the picture of the Kuladaivata is generally printed 855 and the blessings of the Kuladaivata are invoked
Had respondent No 1 considered himself to be a Hindu he would have followed the usual practice
No doubt sophisticated people though still belonging to Hindu religion have discarded the practice of printing the picture of the family deity on wedding invitations and of invoking the blessings of the deity
Respondent No 1 does not suggest that he belongs to that class
Indeed if that were so there would have been no occasion to print the picture of Lord Buddha and seek his blessings
In this invitation the picture of the Kuladaivata was substituted by that of Lord Buddha
This is more consistent with Respondent No 1 having become a Buddhist than with his remaining a Hindu
According to respondent No 1 he did not know till after the Sakshyagandh engagement was over that either of the bride grooms was a Buddhist
He says that a week before the marriages someone from the side of the bridegrooms met him and told him that the weddings had to be performed according to the Buddhist ritual and if he was not agreeable the engagements would be broken off
It was then that he first thought that the bridegrooms were Buddhists
However he did not think it proper to break off the engagements
Now if he were still a Hindu belonging to the Scheduled Castes it is unlikely that he would have reconciled himself with the idea of giving his daughters in marriage to non Hindus more particularly when the bridegrooms  side insisted on following the Buddhist ritual
He has no doubt tried to give an explanation for this curious conduct by saying that he treated Lord Buddha as the 11th sic incarnation and that is why he had Lord Buddha s picture printed on the wedding invitation
That explanation cannot be easily accepted
As regards the third circumstance there is the evidence of Budhaji Godbole PW 11 and Kisan Shende PW 14 in addition to that of the appellant
According to them respondent No 1 converted the Shiva Temple in Gautamnagar into Buddha temple on June 6 1959 and installed Lord Buddha s image at a function over which he presided and at which Dr Y B Ambedkar President of Buddhist Society was present
Respondent No 1 had admitted most of the facts as pointed out by the High Court itself
The variation between the contentions of the parties is this
According to respondent No 1 there was a Shiva Temple on a plot of land in Gaddigudam at Nagpur
While laying a new road in the year 1932 or so this plot was 856 taken over by the Nazul authorities and another plot was given for the Shiva Temple in exchange
But according to him no Shiva Temple was at all constructed or Shiva Ling installed therein
This is obviously untrue
He admits that this plot  was managed by a Panch Committee of which he was a member
For without constructing a Shiva Temple on the plot there could have been nothing to manage by the Panch Committee
No doubt he says that while he was Chairman of that Committee in the year 1959 or 1960 it was decided to construct a Shiva Temple thereon
But it is difficult to believe that the people of the locality would have waited for 28 years for taking the decision
He admits that a temple dedicated to Lord Buddha was constructed thereon as alleged by the appellant and his witnesses
It seems clear that the decision of the committee to which he refers related to the construction of this temple and not to a Shiva Temple which was already there
The evidence led on behalf of the appellant was to the effect that at the cere mony held on June 6 1959 the idol of Lord Buddha was in stalled above the Shiva Linga presumably meaning thereby that the Shiva Linga was overlaid with earth or bricks and on the top of it the image of Lord Buddha was installed
Referring to the evidence of Shende the High Court has observed The witness however does not say that he saw the removal of the old image of Lord Shiva or the Ling and the Pinda which were already there
On the other hand it is the case of Meshram that the Corporation had already given another plot to which the Shiva Mandir had long before been shifted and since this plot was idle he gave it for the installation of Buddha s idol
 The observation of the High Court underlined by us is apparently based on a misreading of the evidence of respondent No 1 and also ignores his plea on the point in his written statement
It is not his case that two plots were allotted for a Shiva Temple one of which was vacant
His case as already stated was that the plot given in exchange for the old one was never utilised and not that two plots were given one of which was utilised
Again the High Court has failed to appreciate properly the evidence of Budhaji Godbole
What he has said is this One house away from the house of respondent No 1 is a plot of land on which then stood a Shiva Temple
This plot stood in the name of the respondent 857 No 1
In that temple was Ling and Pind of Shiva
From 6 6 1959 this temple has now become Buddha Vihar
On that day the Ling and Pind were put underground and at that place was installed idol of God Buddha The installation of the image of God Buddha was done by Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar
It was the respondent No 1 who was the principal man in converting the Shiva temple into a Buddha Vihar
 There is no suggestion in his cross examination that this witness had no personal knowledge of what he had deposed to
Since he has clearly spoken about the burial of the Shiva Linga and the installation of the image of Lord Buddha on top of it he must be understood to mean that this was what happened in his presence and also in that of respondent No1
Incidentally it may be stated that this witness is also a convert to Buddhism
A reference may also be made to the evidence of the other witness Kisan Shende
The relevant portion of his deposition is as follows  The respondent No 1 was the President of the function
The idol of Buddha was installed by Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar on an ota which covered the old Ling and Pind representing God Shiv This part of evidence of this witness has not been challenged in cross examination
There is no reason why this evidence ought not to be accepted particularly when some of the essential facts deposed to by the witnesses have been admitted by respondent No 1 himself
If we accept this evidence then the only conclusion which can emerge is that respondent No 1 had ceased to be a Hindu
For however great the admiration or regard a Hindu may have for Lord Buddha he would shudder at the idea of desecrating a Shiva Linga in this manner or even of converting what was once a Shiva temple into a Buddhist temple
In our opinion this would be the strongest circumstance corroborating the evidence of eye witnesses regarding the conversion of respondent No 1 to Buddhism
It is contended on behalf of respondent No 1 that there is a register of persons who had been converted to Buddhism and that the first respondent s name does not appear there
It is true that RW 5 Waman Godbole speaks of some register but his evidence clearly shows that the register is not regularly maintained nor are the signatures of persons who had been converted 858 taken according to the dates of conversion
There is nothing to show that it was obligatory on every person who had been converted to sign in the register
Moreover a signature in such a register would at best be only a piece of evidence of the fact of conversion and nothing more
Absence of a person s signature in the register would not necessarily negative his being at all converted to Buddhism
Then it is said that only Bhikku is entitled to convert non Buddhists to Buddhism
There is abundant evidence on record that at the conversion ceremony held on October 14 1956 Dr Ambedkar had told the new Buddhists that any one who had become a Buddhist could admit others to the fold of Buddhism
Apart from that we have been shown no authority to the effect that a person cannot become a Buddhist unless he is converted to Buddhism by a Bhikku
Buddhism was in essence also a protest against orthodoxy and the power of the priesthood
It would therefore be strange to say that for a non Buddhist to become a Buddhist strict compliance with rituals is necessary
It is in evidence that at every conversion three vows had been repeated thrice
Five precepts had also to be repeated by those who offered them selves for conversion
This was exactly what was done by Dr Ambedkar his wife and others at the mass meeting on October 14 1956 and it is not suggested that what they did was inadequate and so they cannot be deemed to have embraced Buddhism from that date
It is therefore futile to say that others who went through the same procedure had not become Buddhists merely because no Bhikku had officiated at the function
What cl
3 of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order 1950 contemplates is that for a person to be treated as one belonging to a Scheduled Caste within the meaning of that Order he must be one who professes either Hindu or Sikh religion
The High Court following its earlier decision in Karwade vs Shambhakar1 has said that the meaning of the phrase professes a religion in the aforementioned provision is to enter publicly into a religious state and that for this purpose a mere declaration by person that he has ceased to belong to a particular religion and embraced another religion would not be sufficient
The meanings of the word profess have been given thus in Webster s New Word Dictionary  to avow publicly to make an open declaration of to declare one s belief in  as to profess 1 ILR 859 Christ
To accept into a religious order
 The meanings given in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary are more or less the same
It seems to us that the meaning to declare one s belief in  as to profess Christ is one which we have to bear in mind while construing the aforesaid order because it is this which bears upon religious belief and consequently also upon a changein religious belief
It would thus follow that a declaration of one s belief must necessarily mean a declaration in such a way that it would be known to those whom it may interest
Therefore if a public declaration is made by a person that he has ceased to belong to his old religion and has accepted another religion he will be taken as professing the other religion
In the face of such an open declaration it would be idle to enquire further as to whether the conversion to another religion was efficacious
The word profess in the Presidential Order appears to have been used in the sense of an open declaration or practice by a person of the Hindu or the Sikh religion
Where therefore a person says on the contrary that he has ceased to be a Hindu he cannot derive any benefit from that Order
Finally it is argued that the word Hindu is comprehensive enough to include a Buddhist and in this connection our attention is invited to Explanation 11 to cl
2 of article 25 of the Constitution
Clause 1 of article 25 recognises amongst other things freedom to practise and propagate religion
Sub clause b of cl
2 runs thus  Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law b providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus
 Explanation II  reads thus  In sub clause b of clause 2 the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh Jaina or Buddhist religion and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly
 The definition of Hindu is expanded for the special purposes of sub cl
b of cl
2 of article 25 and for no other
Paragraph 3 of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order reads thus 860 lm15 Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2 no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu or the Sikh religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste
 If it was intended that the word Hindu used in this paragraph should have a wide meaning similar to that in Explanation 11 just quoted the re would have been no need to make a mention of the Sikh religion
From the fact that a special mention is made of the Sikh religion it would follow that the word Hindu is used in the narrower sense of the orthodox Hindu religion which recognises castes and contains injunctions based on caste distinctions
For the foregoing reasons we are satisfied that respondent No 1 had ceased to be a Hindu at the date of his nomination and that consequently he was ineligible to be a candidate for election from a constituency reserved for members of Scheduled Castes
In the circumstances the Tribunal was right in setting aside his election
Accordingly we allow the appeal set aside the judgment of the High Court and restore that of the Tribunal
Costs throughout will be borne by respondent No 1
Appeal allowed


Summary:
The appellant challenged the election of the 1st respondent to the Legislative Assembly on the ground that the latter had embraced Buddhism and had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled caste within the meaning of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order 1950 and was thus disentitled from being a candidate for the particular seat
The Election Tribunal upheld the contention and set aside the election
On appeal the High court held that the conversion of the 1st respondent to Buddhism had not been established by evidence and upheld his election
On appeal to the Supreme Court HELD  i The word profess in the Order means to declare one s belief in
A declaration of one s belief must necessarily mean a declaration in such a way that it would be known to those whom it may interest
Therefore if a public declaration is made by a person that he has ceased to belong to his old religion and has accepted another religion he will be taken as professing the other religion
It is unnecessary to enquire further as to whether the conversion to another religion was efficacious
859 A D iiNo doubt the definition of Hindu contained in the Explanation to Article25 is expanded but that is only for the purposes of sub cl
2 of cl
2of that Article and for no other
The mention of Sikh religion in Para 3of the Order clearly shows that the word Hindu in the order is used in the narrower sense of orthodox Hindu religion which recognises castes and contains injunctions based on caste distinctions
It is not comprehensive enough to include Buddhism
859 H 860 B C Karwade vs Shambhakar ILR over ruled