The Justice Balakrishnan Commission Report on SC Status of Dalit Converts is ready for submission

File photo of former Chief Justice of India Supreme Court KG Balakrishnan. | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Justice (Retired) KG Balakrishnan Commission, which is looking into the issue of Scheduled Caste status for Dalit converts, has completed its study and prepared the report it was tasked with nearly four years ago, The Hindu has learnt.

A three-member commission of inquiry was set up by the Union government in October 2022, just as the Supreme Court was about to hear again a batch of pleas seeking SC status for Dalit Muslims and Christians. This matter has been pending in the Supreme Court for 20 years.

The Commission’s mandate included examining whether SC status could be granted to Dalits who had converted to faiths other than those listed in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Ordinance, 1950. Currently, only Dalits of Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths are eligible for SC classification, unlike Scheduled Tribe status, which has no religious criterion.

More extensions

Almost four years after the Commission was formed, officials with knowledge of the matter said a report had been prepared and was currently being prepared in “book form” for official submission. One official said the Commission should be able to present its report “in a few days”.

The commission was initially given a two-year deadline to complete its work and submit a report to the government. Since 2024, the Commission has been extended several times, most recently in April of this year, which set the latest deadline at 10 June 2026. Gazetteer records do not indicate any further extensions granted to the Commission.

Also Read: Scheduled Caste Government Workers’ Body Opposes Adding Dalit Christians or Muslims to Scheduled Caste List

A pending case

According to the government, the Commission’s study was to examine the demand for SC status for Dalit converts, the opposition to the demand and its impact on existing SC communities, and the levels and types of discrimination faced by Dalit communities after they convert to another faith.

While a number of petitions remain pending in the Supreme Court on the constitutional question of whether Dalit Christians and Muslims can be granted SC status, the apex court recently ruled in the case of a Christian pastor from Andhra Pradesh that the restriction on religion as it exists for SC classification was “absolute”.

In particular, the Union Ministry of Social Justice has made several submissions in the Supreme Court on these matters, arguing that SC status should be denied to people who have converted to faiths such as Islam and Christianity, citing the foreign origin of these religions, while the religions currently included are Indian in nature.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 20:07 IST