The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has upheld the disqualification of Therur Town Panchayat Chairperson Amudarani after it was found that she had concealed her conversion to Christianity while contesting elections under a Scheduled Caste (SC) reservation.
The case was initiated by Ayyappan, a DMK councillor from Therur, Kanyakumari district, who filed a petition challenging Amudarani’s election. He argued that she had converted to Christianity in 2005 but contested the 2022 polls by claiming to belong to the Hindu Pannadiar community, a Scheduled Caste.
Single Judge Victoria Gowri, while hearing the petition earlier, had observed that a person from a Hindu SC background who converts to Christianity or Islam cannot continue to claim SC benefits. She ruled that Amudarani’s candidature itself was invalid and ordered her disqualification, remarking that “a person should not enjoy two privileges at the same time.”
Amudarani subsequently filed an appeal. However, a Division Bench comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and K. Rajasekhar upheld the earlier order, noting that documentary evidence confirmed her baptism and acceptance of Christianity.
The Bench observed that while the Constitution guarantees the fundamental right to practice and convert to any religion, concealing such a conversion in order to continue availing SC benefits amounted to fraud on the Constitution.
“The order of the Single Judge is confirmed, and the appeal is dismissed,” the judges declared.
(With inputs from Hindu Tamil)
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