# PUNJAB RAO v. D. P. MESHRAM & OTIIERS

- **Citation:** [1965] 1 S.C.R. 849
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1964-10-26
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 562 of 1964
- **Bench:** P. B. Gajendragadkar, K. N. Wanchoo, M. Hidayatullah, Raghubar Dayal, 1. R. Mudholkar
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/punjab-rao-v-d-p-meshram-otiiers-3269
- **Pages:** 12

## Headnote

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 Para 3-"Profess", meaning of-Hindu-If includes Buddhist.
The appellant challenged the election of the !st respondent to the
Legislative Assembly on the ground that the latter had embraced Buddhism
and had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled caste within the meaning
of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and was thus disentitled
from being a candidate for the particular seat.
The Election Tribunal
upheld the contention and set aside the election.
On appeal, the High
Court held that the conversion of the !st respondent to Buddhism had not
been established by evidence and upheld his election.
On appeal to the
Supreme Court,
HELD : (i) The word "profess" in the Order means "to declare one's
belief in".
A declaration of one's belief must necessarily menn a declaration in such a way that it would be known to those whom it rnny interest.
Therefore, if a public declaration is made by a person that he has ceased
to belong to his old religion and has accepted another religion he v.·ill be
taken as professing the other religion.
It is unnecessary to enquire further
as to whether the conversion to another religion was efficacious. f859 A-D]
(ii) No doubt the definition of "Hindu" contained in the Explanation
to Article 25 is expanded but that is only for the purposes of sub-cl. (2)
of cl. (2) of that Article and for no other.
The mention of Sikh religion
in Para 3 of the Order clearly shows that the word "Hindu" in the order
is used in the narrower sense of orthodox Hindu religion which recognises
castes and contains injunctions based on caste distinctions.
It is not comprehensive enough to include Buddhism. [859 H; 860 B-Cl
Karwade v. Shambhakar, I.LR. 1959 Born. 229 over-ruled.
CML APPELLA1"E JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 562 of
1964.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
February 7, 8, 1963, of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench)
at Nagpur in Appeal No. 115 of 1962.
M. C. Seta/vad, N. L. Belekar, H. D. Awade and A. G. Ratnaparkhi, for the appellant.
N. C. Chatterjee, V. S. Sawhney, S. S. Khanduja, S. K. Man·
chanda and Ganpat Rai, for respondent No. 1.
850
SUPREME COURT
REPORTS
[ 1965) I S.C.R.

## Text

A
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
PUNJAB RAO
v.
D. P. MESHRAM & OTIIERS
October 26, 1964
(P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, C.J., K. N. WANCHOO,
M. HIDAYATULLAH, RAGHUBAR DAYAL AND
1. R. MUDHOLKAR JJ.)
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 Para 3-"Profess", meaning of-Hindu-If includes Buddhist.
The appellant challenged the election of the !st respondent to the
Legislative Assembly on the ground that the latter had embraced Buddhism
and had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled caste within the meaning
of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and was thus disentitled
from being a candidate for the particular seat.
The Election Tribunal
upheld the contention and set aside the election.
On appeal, the High
Court held that the conversion of the !st respondent to Buddhism had not
been established by evidence and upheld his election.
On appeal to the
Supreme Court,
HELD : (i) The word "profess" in the Order means "to declare one's
belief in".
A declaration of one's belief must necessarily menn a declaration in such a way that it would be known to those whom it rnny interest.
Therefore, if a public declaration is made by a person that he has ceased
to belong to his old religion and has accepted another religion he v.·ill be
taken as professing the other religion.
It is unnecessary to enquire further
as to whether the conversion to another religion was efficacious. f859 A-D]
(ii) No doubt the definition of "Hindu" contained in the Explanation
to Article 25 is expanded but that is only for the purposes of sub-cl. (2)
of cl. (2) of that Article and for no other.
The mention of Sikh religion
in Para 3 of the Order clearly shows that the word "Hindu" in the order
is used in the narrower sense of orthodox Hindu religion which recognises
castes and contains injunctions based on caste distinctions.
It is not comprehensive enough to include Buddhism. [859 H; 860 B-Cl
Karwade v. Shambhakar, I.LR. 1959 Born. 229 over-ruled.
CML APPELLA1"E JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 562 of
1964.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
February 7, 8, 1963, of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench)
at Nagpur in Appeal No. 115 of 1962.
M. C. Seta/vad, N. L. Belekar, H. D. Awade and A. G. Ratnaparkhi, for the appellant.
N. C. Chatterjee, V. S. Sawhney, S. S. Khanduja, S. K. Man·
chanda and Ganpat Rai, for respondent No. 1.
850
SUPREME COURT
REPORTS
[ 1965) I S.C.R.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Mudholkar J.
The question which arises for consideration
in this appeal by special leave from the judgment of the Bombay
High Court is whether respondent No. I Dr. D. P. Meshram was
entitled to be a candidate for election to the Maharashtra LegislaA
tive Assembly from constituency No. 190 of Nagpur Ill, a conB
stituency reserved for candidates from scheduled castes.
The appellant and respondents I to 4 were candidates duly
nominated for election to the Assembly from the aforesaid constituency.
The poll was taken on February 27, 1962 and respondent No. I who had polled the highest number of votes
was
C
declared elected.
The appellant thereupon preferred an election
petition before the Election Commission, the main allegations in
which were (a) that respondent No. I having embraced Buddhism on March 17, 1957 had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled Caste within the mooning of the Constitution (Scheduled
Castes) Order, 1950 and was thus disentitled from being a candiD
date for the particular seat and (b) that respondent No. I was
guilty of several corrupt practices.
The Tribunal held that the
corrupt practices alleged against respondent No. 1 were not estal>-
lished. It, however, came to the conclusion that respondent No. I
had embraced Buddhism as alleged by the appellant and was,
I:
therefore, not eligible for being a candidate for election from the
reserved constituency.
Upon this ground the Tribunal set aside
the election of respondent No. I. It may be mentioned that the
appellant had made a further prayer to the effect that he should
be declared elected to the seat; out this prayer was not granted
by the Tribunal on the ground that he was not the only other F
candidate for election and, therefore, it cannot be said how the
votes which respondent No. 1 had secured would have been distri·
buted among the remaining candidates.
Aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal respondent No. I preferred an appeal before
the High Court of Bombay.
The only question which was urged
before the High Court was regarding the alleged conversion of
G
respondent No. I to Buddhism. On !hat question the High Court
reversed the finding of the Tribunal and held that the fact had
not been established by evidence.
The High Court, therefore,
upheld the election of respondent No. 1.
In support of his contention that respondent No. I was converted to Buddhism on March 17, 1957 the
appellant had
adduced evidence of P.W. 9 Ramrattan Janorkar, P.W. 2 Akant
H
PUNJAB RAO V. D. P. MESHRAM (Mudholkar !.)
851
A Mate, P.W. 5 Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Wasudeo Dongre.
Ramrattan who claims to be a Buddha has said that he presided
over a meeting held at Lashkari Bagh, Nagpur, two or three days
after the Holi festival of the year 1957 at which a mass conversion
of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes to Buddhism
took
8 place. He named ten persons who, according to him, had been
converted at that meeting, one of them being respondent No. I.
Amongst others named by him were P.W. 2 Akant Mate, P.W. 5
Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Wasudeo Dongr'?·
These three persons have corroborated the evidence of Rarnrattan. We have been
taken through the evidence of these witnesses and though there
c may be some contradictions on minor points on the whole their
evidence is consistent and has a ring of truth in it. Moreover, the
Tribtmal which heard and saw the witnesses depose has believed
in their veracity.
The High Court has, however, not chosen to
accept their evidence mainly on the ground that these witnesses
belong to a party which is opposed to respondent No. 1 and his
D party. Jt is not disputed before us that these witnesses as well as
respondent No. 1 were members of the Republican Party of India
founded by the late Dr. Ambedkar and that some time after his
death there was rift in the party as a result of which two groups
. were formed. The leader of one of these groups in Haridas A wade
E and that of the other is Khobargade. Respondent No. 1 belongs
to the group headed by Khobargade while the appellant and the
witnesses belong to the other group.
F
We agree with the High Court that we should not lose sight
of this fact.
In our opinion, however, there are good grounds
for accepting the evidence.
In the first place there is the fact, which is admitted by respondent No. 1 himself, that a mass conversion of a very large
number of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes t? Bud?J1ism took place at Nagpur on October 14, 1956 at a meetmg which
was presided over by Dr. Ambedkar. What took place at that
G meeting is set out in Ex. 66 which gives an account, of the proceedings. It says that about 5 lakhs of persons attended the
meeting.
At that meeting Dr. Ambedkar was present along
with Rev.
Mahesthavir Chandramani who is a Bhikku.
The
Bhikku made Dr. Ambedkar and Mrs. Ambedkar recite the three
refuges (Thrisathi) and five precepts in Pali, af~er which both
H of them garlanded the idol of Lord Buddha which had been
installed i;i the panda! where Dr. and Mrs. Ambedkar, the Bhikku
and other prominent people were sitting. Dr. and Mrs. AmbedL2Sup/6>-11
8 52
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1965] I S.C.R.
kar then took 22 vows which apparently he had himself prepared.
Thereafter the mass ordination took place at which those who
wished to be converted recited the three refuges three times. This
event had attracted attention throughout the country and was given
wide publicity by the press which was well represented at
the
meeting. Respondent No. 1 has admitted that he was a member
of Dr. Ambedkar's party at that time and though he could not
attend the conversion ceremony he had not dissociated himself
from it.
According to him the reason why he did not attend the
ceremony was that he was then busy with making arrangements
at the water works for the supply of water to the lakhs of people,
most of whom had come from the neighbouring villages to attend
the ceremony. It is in the evidence of witnesses that at least thrne
lakhs of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes were converted
to Buddhism at that meeting and that the work of conversion went
on even after October 14, 1956 for quite some time.
Another
factor to be borne in mind is that prominent persons belonging to
A
B
c
the Scheduled Castes were converted to Buddhism and it would be
D
highly improbable that respondent No. 1 who was a prominent
member of the Scheduled Castes in Nagpur and a follower of
Dr. Ambedkar would have remained aloof from the movement
started by Dr. Ambedkar. The main object of Dr. Ambedkar was
to secure for the members of the Scheduled Castes an honourable
place in society and he felt that the various disabilities placed upon
members of these castes were due to the fact that in Hindu.religion
to which they belonged, they had been accorded the lowest rank
in society with the result that they had come to be regarded as
untouchables.
Undoubtedly, the caste system has virtually come
to be regarded as an essential feature of Hindu society
and,
therefore. Dr. Ambedkar felt that the only way open to members
belonging to the lowest group was to sever their connection com·
plctcly from such a society.
He found that Buddhism, the way
or nath of peace, not only, offered solace to the spirit but also
social equality to all its members.
Dr. Ambedkar was the un·
questioned leader of the Scheduled Castes, at any rate in Maharashtra.
It would, therefore, not be unreasonable to infer that
those who had accepted his leadership and those who in addition
held prominent places amongst people belonging to the Scheduled
Castes ~hould follow Dr. Ambedkar and renouncing Hinduism
embrace like him. Buddhism. If this probability is borne in mind
the evidence of the witnesses who have deposed to the fact of the
actual conversion of respondent No. I to Buddhism would become
more easily acceptable.
E
F
G
H
PUNJAB RAO v. D. P. MESHRAM (Mudholkar J.)
853
A
That, however, is not all. Corroboration of this evidence was
sought lo be supplied by the appellant from the conduct of respondent No. 1 subsequent to his conversion. For this purpose he
has relied upon three.matters: One is the signing of a declaration
by respondent No. 1 along with some other persons to the effect
that he had embraced Buddhism and that he, therefore, ceased to
8
be any longer a member of the Scheduled Castes; the second is
a wedding invitation subscribed to, amongst others, by respon·
dent No. 1 on which the picture of Lord Buddha is inscribed:
and the third is the conversion of a Shiva temple situate near the
appellant's house to a Buddha temple.
C
The declaration is Ex. 42 and is dated July 5, 1957. It is to
D
the following effect:
"To whomsoever it may concern :-
We, the following signatories, do hereby affirm that
we embraced Buddha religion on 17-3-1957 and no
longer since remain Harijans."
Then follow the names of ten persons, including P .W. 2 Akant
Mate, P.W. 5 Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Dongre. Each of them
has signed therein against his name. The reason why this declaration came into existence is, -according to the appellant,
the
E following :
Elections had taken place to the Nagpur Corporation and a
meeting was held on July 5, 1957 for selection of six additional
members.
One of the Corporators, Mr. Udhoji, raised a point
of order to the effect that no member of the Scheduled C1stes
F having been elected to the Corporation a person belonging to the
Scheduled Castes was required to be selected under the provisions
of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Act.
Respondent No. 1
was one of the persons who had already been elected to the Corporation and was present at the meeting. He, however, did not
contest the statement of Mr. Udhoji to the effect that no person
G belonging to the Scheduled Castes had been elected. Apparently,
the point of order was disallowed and selection of six members,
none of whom belonged to the Scheduled Castes, took
place.
Immediately thereafter the declaration referred to above
was
signed by ten persons, including respondent No. 1, who had all
been elected as members of the Municipal Corporntion at
the
H Corporation election. This was filed alon~ with the writ petition
presented before the High Court in which the selection made at
the meeting of July 5, was sought to be quashed on the ground
l
854
SUPREME COURT RF.PORTS
[ 1965] I S.C.R.
that no person belonging to a Scheduled Caste had been selected.
A.
Respondent Nn. I admits that he did si~n this declaration but in
his written statement the reason given by him is that he did w
under political pressure.
In his evidence, however, he has given
a different explanation. This is what he has said :
"Akant Mate came there with some writing and told
us that it was the directive of the Scheduled Castes Federation that members elected on its tickets should sign
it.
. . . . . . . .
I do not know how he got that directive
from the Federation, and from whom he got it.
The
writing was in English and I signed upon it.
Akant
Mare told me that I should sign on the document, he
would go and get signatures of other Corporators and
give it in the Corporation oflice.
I could not myself
r.:ad the English typewritten material. Akan! Mate told
me tnat the President of the meeting gave the ruling in
the information by the Commi<sioner that I and Mate
were members of the Scheduled Caste and that if this
were not so, we would be able to get one more member
and, therefore. I should sign on the document. My con·
sent was not taken for filing the declaration in the High
Court. I was not a party to the proceedings in the High
Court. in connection with which the declaration
was
taken.''
What he has said is, in substance, that he was duped by Akant
Mate.
1l1erc is thus a variation between his pleading and the
proof adduced and in the circumstances we will be justified in
rejecting his explanation.
Once the explanation is rejected the
declaration must he taken into :iccount :is a piece of corroboration of the fact that he had ceased to be a Hindu as he had been
converted to Buddhism.
Respondent No. I does not deny that the wedding invitation
placed on record by the appellant bears his name as one of the
hosts.
The invitation pertains to the wedding of his daughters
Lalita :ind Pushpa Lala and their respective bridegrooms
were
Sirish and Yashwant Rao.
At the top of the invitation are the
usual words "Suhh Langna·· (auspicious wedding).
Then there
i, a ricturc of Lord Buddha followed by the inscription "May
victory and pro,perity by yours-Obeisances to Buddha".
It is
\\L'li ~nown 1hat in Hindu weddin~s the invit:itions issued in an
Indian lan[:Ua£!c the picture of the Kuladaivata is generally printed
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
'
-
PUNJAB RAO v. D. P. MESHRAM (Mudholkar J.)
855
A arul the blessings of the Kuladaivata are invoked. Had respondent
No. 1 considered himself to be a Hindu he would have followed
the usual practice.
No doubt, sophisticated people, though still
belonging to Hindu religion, have discarded the practice of printing the picture of the family deity on wedding invitations and of
B invoking the blessings of the deity.
Respondent No. 1 does not
suggest that he belongs to that class.
Indeed, if that were so,
there would have been no occasion to print the picture of Lord
Buddha ~nd seek his blessings.
In this invitation the picture of
the Kuladaivata was substituted by that of Lord Buddha. This is
more consistent with Respondent No. 1 having become a Buddhist
c than with his remaining a Hindu.
According to respondent No. 1 he did not know till after the
Sakshyagandh (engagement) was over that either of the bridegrooms was a Buddhist.
He says that a week before
the
marriages someone from the side of the bridegrooms met him
and told him that the weddings had to be performed according
D
to the Buddhist 'ritual and if he was not agreeable the engagements would be broken off. It was then that he first thought that
the bridegrooms were Buddhists.
However, he did not think
it proper to break off the engagements.
Now, if he were still a
Hindu belonging to the Scheduled Castes it is unlikely that he
E
would have reconciled himself with the idea of
giving
his
daughters in marriage to non-Hindus, more particularly when
the bridegrooms' side insisted on 'following the Buddhist ritual.
He has, no doubt, tried to give an explanation for this curious
conduct by saying that he treated Lord Buddha as the "11th
(sic) incarnation" and that is why he had Lord Buddha's picture
F
printed on the wedding invitation.
That explanation cannot be
easily accepted.
As regards the third circumstance there is the evidence of
Budhaji Godbole, P.W. 11, and Kisan Shende, P.W. 14, in
addition to that of the appellant.
According to them responG
dent No. 1 converted the Shiva Temple in Gautamna):(ar into
Buddha temple on June 6, f959 and installed Lord Buddha's
image at a function over which he presided and at which Dr.
Y. B. Ambedkar. President of Buddhist Society was
present.
Respondent No. 1 had admitted most of the facts, as pointed out
by the High Court itself. The variation between the contentions
H
of the parties is this.
According to respondent No. I there was
a Shiva TeJtlple on a plot of land in Gaddigudam at Nagpur.
While laying a new road jn the year 1932 or SG this plot was
856
SUPREME COURT
REPORTS
[1965) I S.C.R.
taken over by the Nazul authorities and another plot was given
A
for the Shiva Temple in exchange.
But according to him, no
Shiva Temple was at all constructed or Shiva Ling
installed
therein.
This is obviously untrue.
He admits that this
plot
"was managed by a Panch Committee" of which he was a member. For, without constructing a Shiva Temple on the plot there
B
could have been nothing to manage by the Panch Committee.
No doubt, he says that while he was Chairman of that Committee
in the year 1959 or 1960 it was decided to construct a Shiva
Temple thereon.
But it is difficult to believe that the people of
the locality would have waited for 28 years for taking
the
decision.
He admits that a temple dedicated to Lord Ruddha c
was constructed thereon as alleged by the appellant and .his witnesses.
It seems clear that the decision of the committee
to
which he refers related to the construction of this temple and
not to a Shiva Temple which was already there.
The evidence
led on behalf of the appellant was to the efTect that at the ceremony held on June 6, 1959 the idol of Lord Buddha was inD
stalled above the §hiva Ling.a, presumably meaning
thereby
that the Shiva Linga was overlaid with earth or bricks and on
the top of it the image of Lord Buddha was installed. Refcn 1ng
to the evidence of Shende the High Court has observed :
"The witness however does not say that he saw
the removal of the old image of Lord Shiva or the Ling
and the Pinda which were already there. On the other
hand, it is the case of Meshram that the Corporation
had already given another plot to which the Shiva
Mandir had long before hecn shifted ~nd since, !his
plot was idle, he gave it for the inst;•llation of Buddha's
idol."
The observation of the High Court underlined by us is apparently based on a misreading of the evidence of respondent No. i ·
and also ignores his plea on the point in his written statement.
E
F
It is not his case that two plots were allotted for a Shiva Temple
G
one of whiCh was vacant.
His case, as already stated, was that
the plot given in exchange for the old one was never utilised and
not that two plots were given, one of which was utilised. Again,
the High Court has failed to appreciate properly the evidence of
Budhaji Godbole. What he has said is this :
"One house away from the house of respondent
H
No. 1 is a plot of land on which then stood a Shiva
Temple. This plot stood in the name of the respondent
A
B
PUNJAB RAO v. D. P. MESHRAM (Mudholkar J.)
857
No. 1.
In that temple was Ling and .f'ind of Shiva
...... From 6-6-1959 this temple has now become
Buddha Vihar. On that day, the Ling and Pind were
put underground and at that place was installed idol of
God Buddha.
. ... The installation of the image of
God Buddha was done by Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar. It.1
was the respondent No. 1 who was the principal man
in converting the Shiva temple into a Buddha Vihar."
There is no suggestion in his cross-examination that this. witness
had no personal knowledge of wha~ he had deposed to.
Since
he has clearly spoken about the burial of the Shiva Linga and
c the installation of the image of Lord Buddha on top of it,· he
must be understood to mean that this was what happened in his
presence and also in that of respondent No. 1.
Incidentally, it
may be stated that this witness is also a convert to Buddhism.
A reference may also be made to the evidence of the
other
witness Kisan Shende.
The relevant portion of his deposition
D is as follows :
E
"The respondent No. 1 was the President of the
function.
The idol of Buddha was installed by Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar. on an ota which covered the old
Ling and Pind representing God Shiv ...... ~ .. "
This part of evidence of this witness has not been challenged in
cross-examination.
There is no reason why this evidence ought
not to be accepted, particularly when some of the essential facts
deposed to by the witnesses have been admitted by respondent
No. 1 himself.
I.f we accept tJ:Vs evidence then the only conF clusion which can emerge is that rnspondent No. 1 had ceased
to be a Hindu.
For, however great the admiration or regard a
Hindu may have for Lord Buddha, he would shudder at
the
idea of desecrating a Shiva Linga in this manner or even
of
converting what was once a Shiva temple into a Buddhist temple.
In our opinion, this would be the strongest circumstance corroG borating the evidence of eye-witnesses regarding the conversion
of respondent No. 1 to Buddhism.
It is contended on behalf of respondent No. 1 that there is
a regi~ter of persons who had been converted to Buddhism and
that the first respondent's name does not appear there. It is true
H that R.W. 5 Waman Godbole speaks of some register but his
evidence clearly shows that the register is not regularly maintained nor are the signatures of persons who had been converted
.....
858
SIJPREMB
COURT
REPORTS
[1965] l S.C.R.
taken according to the dates of conversion.
There is nothing
to show that it was obligatory on every person who had been
converted to sign in the register.
Moreover, a signature in such
a register would at best be only a piece of evidence of the fact
of conversion and nothing more.
Absence of a person's signature in the register would not necessarily negative his being at
all converted to BuddhLsm.
Then it is said that onlv Bhikku
B
c
is entitled to convert non-Buddhists to Buddhism.
There
is
abundant evidence on r•:cord that at the conversion ceremony
held on October 14. 1956 Dr. Ambedkar had told the
new
Buddhists that any one who had become a Buddhist
could
admit others to the fold of Buddhism. Apart from that we have
been shown no authority to the effect that a person
cannot
become a Buddhist unless he is converted to Buddhism by a
Bhikku.
Buddhism was in essence also a protest against orthodoxy and the power of the priesthood.
It would, therdore, be
strange to say that for a non-Buddhist to become a Buddhist
strict compliance with rituals is necessary.
It is in evidence D
that at every conversion three vows had been repeated thrice.
Five precepts had also to be repeated by those who offered themselves for conversion.
This was exactly what was done b>
Dr. Ambedkar, his wife and others at the mass meeting on
October 14. 1956 and it is not suggested that what they did was
inadequate and so they cannot be deemed to have embraced I.
Buddhism from that date.
It is, therefore, futile to say that
others who went through the same procedure had not become
Buddhists merely because no Bhikku had officiated at the function.
What cl. (3) of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order,
1950 contemplates is that for a person to be treated as
one
belonging to a Scheduled Caste within the meaning of that Order
he must be one who professes either Hindu or Sikh religion. The
High Court, following its earlier decision in Karwade v. Shambhakar(') has said that the meaning of the phrase "professes
a religion" in the aforementioned provision is "to enter publicly
into a religious state" and that for this purpose a mere declaration
by person that he has ceased to belong to a particular religion
and embraced another religion
would not be sufficient.
The
meanings of the word "profess" have been given thus in Webster's
New Word Dictionary : "to avow publicly; to make an open
declaration of; ...... to declare one's belief in : as, to profess
(I) l.L.R. 1959 Bom. 229.
H
...
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PUNJAB RAO v. D. P. MESHRAM (Mud'holkar J.)
859
A Christ.. To ru:cept into a religious ordet." The meanings given
in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary are more or less the same. It
seems to us that the meaning "to declare one's belief in : as to
profess Christ" is one which we have to bear in mind while construing the aforesaid order becalJlse it is this which bears upon
religious belief and consequently also upon a change in religious
8
belief. It would thus follow that a declaration of one's belief must
necessarily mean a declaration in' such a way that it would be
known to those whom it may interest.
Therefore, if a public
declaration is made by a person that he has ceased to belong to
his old religion
and has accepted another religion
he will be
c taken as professing the other religion.
In the face of such an
open declaration it would be idle to enquire further as to whether
the conversion to another religion was efficacious.
The word
"profess" in the Presidential Order appears to have been used in
the sense of an open declaration or practice by a person of the
Hindu (or the Sikh) religion.
Where, therefore, a person says,
D on the contrary, that he has ceased to be a Hindu he cannot
derive any benefit from that Order.
Finally it is argued that the word Hindu is comprehensive
enough to include a Buddhist and in this corinecticm our attention is invited to Explanation II to cl.
(2) of Art.
25 of the
E Constitution.
Clause ( 1) of- Art. 25 recognises, amongst other
things, freedom to practise and propagate religion.
Sub-clause
(b) of cl. (2) runs thus :
F
G
"Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of
any existing law or p!_event the State from making any
law-
(b) providing for social welfare and reform or the
throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus."
Explanation II reads thus :
"In sub-clause (b) of clause (2), the reference to
Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to
persons professing the Sikh, J aina or Buddhist religion,
.and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall
be construed accordingly."
H The definition of Hindu is expanded for the special purposes of
sub-cl. (b) of cl. (2) of Art. 25 and for no other. Paragraph
3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order reads thus :
-
860
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1965] l S.C.R.
"Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2,
A
no person who professes a religion different from the
Hindu or the Sikh religion shall he deemed to be a
member of a Scheduled Caste."
If it was intended that the word "Hindu" used in this paragraph
should have a wide meaning similar to that in Explanation II just
quoted there would have been no necc.1 to· make a mention of the
Sikh religion.
From the fact that a special mention is made of
the Sikh religion it would follow that the word "Hinc.lu" is used
in the narrower sense of the orthodox Hindu religion which recognises castes and contains injunctions ba;cc.l on caste distinctions.
For the foregoing reasons we are satisfied that
responder.I
No. I had ceased to be a Hindu at th~ date of his nomination and
that consequently he was ineligible to be a candidate for election
from a constituency reserved for members of Scheduled Castes.
B
c
In the circumstances the Tribunal was right in setting aside his
election. Accordingly we allow the appe~l. set aside the judgment
D
of the High Court and restore that of the Tribunal. Costs throughout will be borne by respondent No. !.
Appeal allowed.