ONGOLE: An alleged occupation of a private family land parcel in Kothapalem village of Pittalavanipalem mandal in Bapatla district, where a temporary Christian prayer hall was reportedly set up, has culminated in a significant Supreme Court order on the Scheduled Caste (SC) status of converted Christians.
At the centre of the legal battle is Akkala Rami Reddy, a Bapatla district-based advocate, who pursued the case from a local court to the apex court. The recent Supreme Court order held that persons who convert to religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism are not eligible for Scheduled Caste status. Speaking to the TNIE on Friday, Rami Reddy said the judgment marked the end of a long legal fight that began with a dispute over his family’s land in his native village.
“Finally, the Supreme Court delivered justice in my years-long legal fight over the issue. It will be an eye-opening judgment for the public who were blindly supporting religious conversions through preachers and pastors of other religions, who tempted people with sweet words, welfare schemes, health support and financial assistance,” he said.
Rami Reddy, an LLB graduate from a middle-class agricultural family in Kothapalem, said he returned to the village in 2020 after completing his studies in Hyderabad. It was then that he found that a 0.14-acre parcel of his family land, which had been temporarily given to a distant relative for use as a cattle shed, had allegedly been converted into a Christian prayer hall.
According to him, the relative had converted to Christianity and under the influence of Pastor Chintada Anand, Pastor Anil and others, changed the site into a place of worship. Rami Reddy said he objected strongly, sought to reclaim the land and installed an Anjaneya Swamy idol and announced plans to construct a small temple there. He also approached the authorities, alleging illegal occupation and religious misuse of the property.
He alleged that some pastors, through converted villagers, later contacted him and asked him to permit the construction of a full-fledged church on the site. When he refused, they allegedly threatened to file a case against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
We’ll seek cancellation of pastor’s SC certificate: Rami Reddy
“With this, in 2021, the pastor and his men made false complaints against me and pressured the police authorities through the then State SC Commission to register a false SC/ST atrocities case against us, alleging that my family members and I had threatened them and abused them in the name of their caste.
They also used political pressure to try and send us behind bars. As an advocate, I knew they were making false and illegal complaints against my family and me, and that is when I began my legal battle,” Rami Reddy said.
He said he first submitted documentary evidence and recorded evidence proving his family’s ownership of the site before the authorities and the court. After scrutiny, the court granted an injunction order in his favour.
“That only increased the pressure on us. Some police officers and government officials were allegedly influenced through the political backing of leaders from the ruling party. They tried to force us to give up the land. When we made arrangements to install the Hanuman idol, local officials, including the Tahsildar and police, issued notices to us. There was even a physical attack to intimidate us and false complaints were lodged claiming that we had attacked them. I, along with a few family members and relatives, was sent to jail for a short period. We later got bail and continued our legal fight.” he said.
Rami Reddy said the matter eventually moved from a local court in Bapatla to the Supreme Court. “We made it clear before the courts that the site belongs to our family and that Pastor Anand does not belong to the SC community, as he is a converted Christian, is preaching Christianity and has been involved in religious conversions for a long time. Therefore, the SC/ST Atrocities Act should not be invoked in such a case. Finally, the apex court gave a historic order in this regard,” he said.
He added that he would now approach the authorities seeking cancellation of the pastor’s SC certificate. “Now, we are going to appeal to the concerned authorities to cancel his SC certificate with immediate effect,” he told TNIE.