VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre, State government, and Collectors of West Godavari and Eluru districts over a petition seeking cancellation of Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates granted to pastors who converted to Christianity.
Justice Nyapathy Vijay directed the authorities to file detailed counters and adjourned the matter to July 6. The petition was filed by P Prasanna Kumar, president of the Scheduled Castes Rights Protection Committee, who argued that pastors in the two districts had obtained SC certificates despite embracing Christianity.
Advocate N Srinivasa Rao, appearing for petitioner, contended that such certification violated Supreme Court rulings, which state that SC and ST benefits do not extend to converts. He alleged that some pastors had secured certificates through irregular means, citing information obtained under Right to Information Act.
The petitioner maintained that this practice was harmful to genuine SC members and urged the court to take action against officials responsible for issuing such certificates.