Case: Principal, Guntur Medical College, Guntur Vs. Y.Mohan Rao

even this requirement that a candidate in order to be eligible for a reserved seat should be a member of a Scheduled Caste by birth went beyond the provision in cl. (3) of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes order. 1950 and was rightly condemned as void and no reliance was placed upon it on behalf of the State.The principal argument advanced on be half of the State was that when the respondent was converted to Hinduism, he did not automatically become a member of the Madiga caste, out it was open to the members of the Madiga caste to accept him within their fold and it was only if he was so accepted, that he could claim to have become a member of the Madiga caste. There was no evidence in the present case, contended the State, showing that the respondent, on his conversion to Hinduism, was accepted as a member of the Madiga caste by the other members of that caste and, therefore, he was not at the time of his application for admission a member of a Scheduled caste 5. Now, before we proceed to consider this contention, it is necessary to point out that there is no absolute rule applicable in all cases that whenever a member of a caste is converted from Hinduism to Christianity, he loses his membership of the caste. This question has been considered by this Court in C. M. Arumugam v. S. Rajgopal and it has been pointed out there that ordinarily it is true that on conversion to Christianity, a person would cease to be a member of the caste to which he belongs, but that is not an invariable rule. It would depend on the structure of the caste and its rules and regulations. There are some castes, particularly in South India, where this consequence does not follow on conversion, since such castes comprise both Hindus and Christians. Whether Madiga is a caste which falls within this category is a debatable question. The contention of the respondent in his writ petition was that mere are both Hindus and Christians in Madiga caste and even after conversion to Christianity, his parents continued to belong to Madiga caste and he was, therefore, a member of Madiga caste right from the time of his birth. It is not necessary for the purpose of the present appeal to decide this question. We may assume that, on conversion to Christianity, the parents of the respondent lost their membership of Madiga caste and that the respondent was, therefore, not a Madiga by birth. The question is: could the respondent become a member of Madiga caste on conversion to Hindusim ? That is a question on which considerable light is thrown by the decision of this Court in C. M. Arumugam v. S. Rajgopal (supra).The main question which arose for decision in C. M. Arumugamr v. S. Rajgopal (supra) was whether S. Raigopal, who belonged to Adi Dravida caste before his conversion to Christianity, could, on reconversion to Hinduism once again become a member of the Adi Dravida caste. This Court, after examining the question on principle and referring to the decided cases, pointed out that the consistent view taken in this country since 1886 was that on reconversion to Hinduism, a person can once again become a member of the caste in which he was born and to which he belonged before conversion to another religion, if the members of the caste accept him as a member. This Court observe d that there was no reason, either on principle or on authority, which should compel it to disregard this view which has prevailed for almost a century and lay down a different rule on the subject and concluded that on reconversion to Hinduism , S. Rajgopal could once again revert to his Adi Dravida caste, for he was accepted by the other members of the caste. 6. The reasoning on which this decision proceeded is equally applicable in a case where the parents of a person are converted from Hinduism to Christianity and he is born after their conversion and on his subsequently embracing Hinduism, the members of the caste to which the parents belonged prior to their conversion accept him as a member within the fold. It is for the members of the caste to decide whether or not to admit a person within the caste. Since the caste is a social combination of persons governed by its rules and regulations, it may, if its rules and regulations so provide, admit a new member just as it may expel an existing member. The only requirement for admission of a person as a member of the caste is the acceptance of the person by the other members of the caste, for, as pointed out by Krishnaswami Ayyangar, J., in Durgaprasada Rao v. Sudarsanaswami, "in matters affecting the well being or composition of a caste, the caste itself is the supreme judge". (emphasis supplied). It will, therefore, be seen that on conversion to Hinduism, a person born of Christian converts would not become a member of the caste to which his parents belonged prior to their conversion to Christianity, automatically or as a matter of course, but he would become such member, if the other members of the caste accept him as a member and admit him within the fold.This view would have ordinarily required us to find whether, on the material on record, it could be said to have been established by the respondent that, on conversion to Hinduism, he was accepted as a member of Madiga caste by the other members of that caste, for it is only if he was so accepted that he could claim to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. But it is not necessary for us to undertake this inquiry because, as already pointed out, it has been agreed by the State that, whatever be the result of this appeal, the admission of the respondent will not be disturbed. 7.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]But by reason of c]. (3), a person belonging to Madiga caste would not be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste unless he professes Hindu or Sikh religion at the relevant time. It is not necessary that he should have been born a Hindu or a Sikh. The only thing required is that he should at the material time be professing Hindu or Sikh religionThis interpretation was plainly erroneous because what Not e (b) required was not that a candidate should be a Hindu by birth but that he should belong to a Scheduled Caste by birth. But even this requirement that a candidate in order to be eligible for a reserved seat should be a member of a Scheduled Caste by birth went beyond the provision in cl. (3) of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes order. 1950 and was rightly condemned as void and no reliance was placed upon it on behalf of the StateThere was no evidence in the present case, contended the State, showing that the respondent, on his conversion to Hinduism, was accepted as a member of the Madiga caste by the other members of that caste and, therefore, he was not at the time of his application for admission a member of a Scheduled casteThe reasoning on which this decision proceeded is equally applicable in a case where the parents of a person are converted from Hinduism to Christianity and he is born after their conversion and on his subsequently embracing Hinduism, the members of the caste to which the parents belonged prior to their conversion accept him as a member within the fold. It is for the members of the caste to decide whether or not to admit a person within the caste. Since the caste is a social combination of persons governed by its rules and regulations, it may, if its rules and regulations so provide, admit a new member just as it may expel an existing member. The only requirement for admission of a person as a member of the caste is the acceptance of the person by the other members of the caste, for, as pointed out by Krishnaswami Ayyangar, J., in Durgaprasada Rao v. Sudarsanaswami, "in matters affecting the well being or composition of a caste, the caste itself is the supreme judge". (emphasis supplied). It will, therefore, be seen that on conversion to Hinduism, a person born of Christian converts would not become a member of the caste to which his parents belonged prior to their conversion to Christianity, automatically or as a matter of course, but he would become such member, if the other members of the caste accept him as a member and admit him within the fold.This view would have ordinarily required us to find whether, on the material on record, it could be said to have been established by the respondent that, on conversion to Hinduism, he was accepted as a member of Madiga caste by the other members of that caste, for it is only if he was so accepted that he could claim to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. But it is not necessary for us to undertake this inquiry because, as already pointed out, it has been agreed by the State that, whatever be the result of this appeal, the admission of the respondent will not be disturbed.