The Apex Court’s ruling in the case of Chinthada Anand v State of Andhara Pradesh & Ors in March, 2026 is arguable one of the most important ruling for the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities in our country, especially when nation-wide census process has begun.
The Apex Court in Chinthada Anand case has held that a person belonging to Scheduled Caste loses his SC status on conversion to another religion from Hinduism and while conversion to another religion from Hinduism may not be a ground in the case of a Scheduled Tribe person to lose his status but any ‘abandonment of tribal practices’ will lead to that person losing his status as a Scheduled Tribe category person and all the benefits thereunder.
“Where conversion or subsequent conduct results in a complete severance from the tribal way of life and loss of community recognition, the foundational basis for Scheduled Tribes status will stand eroded” are the words of the Apex Court in its judgment in Chinthada Anand case.
While the judiciary has confirmed that a Scheduled Caste person cannot enjoy statutory benefits available to SCs without professing Hindu religion, in the case of Scheduled Tribe it is not so straightforward. Tribals in India are officially exempt from core Hindu personal laws (like the Hindu Marriage Act & Hindu Succession Act (“HSA”) and are governed by their own customary practices.
This has created a conflict between customary laws and constitutional rights yet again and at the centre of this conflict, this time, are the tribal women.
The Apex Court believes that the current customary practices of certain tribal communities are violative of Article 14 and 21. The Hindu Succession Act, has carved out an exception for the Scheduled Tribe, it does not extend to STs.
Union Law Minister had made a statement in the Parliament in 2024 that Government was exploring the possibility of extending HSA to tribal women but the nudge this time has come from the highest Judicial body.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its 2025 judgment in Tirith Kumar & Ors v Daduram & Ors urged the Central Government to bring about legislative reforms to address the gender inequality embedded in tribal inheritance laws by withdrawing the exemptions under the HSA to include tribal women.
“When the daughter of a non-tribal community is entitled to an equal share in her father’s property, there is no justification for denying the same to the daughter of a tribal family” said the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
However the relief in Tirith Kumar came by way of the Central Provinces Act of 1875 that gave wide powers to the courts to pass orders in the interest of justice wherever there was a legislative vacuum but after the repeal of the 1875 Act in 2018, cases that arise post 2018 will pose a challenge to the Apex Court in upholding the constitutional principles of equality when it comes to succession rights of tribal women.
A similar case had come up before the Apex Court in 2022, where the Hon’ble Supreme Court had yet again directed the Central Government in Kamla Neti (Dead) through LRS v The Special Land Acquisition Officer & Ors. case to examine extending provisions of the Hindu Succession Act to tribal women.
This direction from the Apex Court came in the backdrop of a Scheduled Tribe woman being denied right to succession to her ancestral land whereas her brothers and uncles inherited the property and the compensation thereof.
A large population of the Indian tribals especially in the Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand-Orissa belt converting to Christianity has been the Achilles’ Heels for the BJP and the RSS that have not been able to contain these religious conversions to its satisfaction.
The Apex Court’s ruling in Chinthada Anand might have created an opening for the BJP-RSS to legally address this religious-conversion issue. Out of the 84 million ST persons in India, according to the 2011 census, nearly 7.9 million STs identify themselves as being of “Other Religions and Persuasions (ORP)” – outside the 6 major religions in India. About 1.2 million tribals identify as Muslims whereas 8 million identify as Christians.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court is pushing for the Government to remove the exclusion created by Section 2(2) of the HSA and by implication include STs in the statutory definition of “Hindu” so as to extend the equal succession rights to tribal women and eliminate the gender-inequality among certain tribal communities.
The Judiciary seem to be of the opinion that STs are better off deemed legally Hindu for the purpose of succession rights at least. If the Government were to succeed in legally bringing STs for all purposes under the broader umbrella of “Hindus”, what would be the fate of the tribals who identify themselves as “ORP”? Could they lose their ST status in future?
In the case of Tribal Muslims and Christians, Supreme Court in Chinthada Anand case has already held that tribals who have adopted a different way of life outside their tribal practices will lose their ST status. Hinduism arguably remains the only religion for the Tribals within which they can continue their way of life without any theological conflict.
If the Government fails to bring the necessary amendments, will the Courts take it upon themselves to strike down the exclusion created by Section 2(2) of the HSA for the benefit of the tribal women? Given the judicial mood on this issue, it does not seem an implausible idea.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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