By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Rudrapur (US Nagar), 15 May: In a far-reaching development, Udham Singh Nagar district administration has recommended cancellation of a Scheduled Caste certificate (SC Certificate) following the findings of religious conversion in Gadarpur. The matter has now been referred to the district scrutiny committee for a final decision. This development has sparked widespread discussion in the region.
According to the officials, Arvind Saini, a resident of Mazarshila village in Gadarpur, had lodged a complaint alleging that an unauthorised church was being run in the village and where the local people were being converted to Christianity. Acting on the complaint, the administration initiated an inquiry. SDM Richa Singh informed the media that a joint investigation was carried out by the revenue officials in respect of the complaint. The inquiry revealed that the person running the church had originally belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community under Hindu religion but had reportedly converted to Christianity. The administration also examined the social media activity in this case and during the scrutiny public declarations of conversion were found.
It may also be reminded here that the administrative records show that the Scheduled Caste certificate had been issued to the person concerned by the Gadarpur Tehsildar on 14 January 2019. Based on the joint report of the revenue sub-inspector and inspector, a recommendation has now been made to cancel the certificate. Richa Singh confirmed that the inquiry was conducted in line with the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and Supreme Court guidelines. The documents and joint findings have been forwarded to the district scrutiny committee for final decision.
It may be pertinent to remind here that the Supreme Court has categorically held that Scheduled Caste status cannot be retained after conversion to Christianity or Islam and has categorically reaffirmed that only those professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism are eligible for SC recognition. This ruling directly impacts cases like the Gadarpur certificate cancellation, where conversion was cited as grounds for withdrawal of caste-based benefits. The latest such decision of the apex court was delivered its March 2026 ruling in Chinthada Anand v. State of Andhra Pradesh. The court had clarified that conversion to Christianity or Islam extinguishes Scheduled Caste identity and the protections under the SC/ST Act. The bench had also observed that caste-based disabilities are historically rooted in Hindu society, and protective discrimination was designed to uplift those disadvantaged within that framework. Once an individual embraces Christianity or Islam, the Court reasoned, the social and economic disabilities tied to caste cease to exist in the eyes of law, and therefore the constitutional safeguards also lapse.
Meanwhile, intelligence reports indicate that in the Terai region, 105 people from 80 villages have recently adopted Christianity, prompting the district administration to intensify its vigilance in conversion-related matters. The Dhami government has already enforced a stringent anti-conversion law in the state, and the Supreme Court has directed that those who convert will not be entitled to reservation benefits. ADM Pankaj Upadhyay admitted that after the Nanakmatta conversion case, a special investigation team has been constituted to probe such matters thoroughly.
It may also be recalled that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has also stated that the government has enacted a strict anti-conversion law and both those inducing and those undertaking conversion through inducement will face legal consequences. He emphasised that the Supreme Court has clearly ruled that individuals who convert will be deprived of reservation benefits. He described the incidents in the Terai region as concerning and assured that the administration is conducting detailed investigations.
