Justice K.G. Balakrishnan (retd) Commission ‘s report on SC status for Dalit converts ready

SOCIAL – RESERVATION

12 JUNE 2026

• The Justice K.G. Balakrishnan (retd) Commission examining the issue of Scheduled Caste status for Dalit converts has finished its study and prepared the report it was tasked with almost four years ago.
• The three-member Commission of Inquiry was constituted by the government in October 2022, just as the Supreme Court was about to resume hearing a batch of pleas that sought Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Muslims and Christians.
• The issue has been pending in the top court for 20 years now.
• The commission’s mandate included examining whether Scheduled Caste status can be granted to Dalits who have converted to any faith other than those mentioned in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950.
• Currently, only Dalits of Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh faiths are entitled to a Scheduled Caste classification, unlike the Scheduled Tribe status, which does not have a religion criterion.
• The Commission was initially given a two-year deadline to finish its work and submit a report to the government. Since 2024, the Commission has been given multiple extensions, the last one in April this year, which set the latest deadline at June 10, 2026. Gazette records do not show any further extension granted to the Commission.
• The Union Social Justice Ministry has made multiple submissions to the Supreme Court in these matters, arguing that the Scheduled Caste status should be denied to people who had converted to faiths like Islam and Christianity.