The Madras High Court has held that a person’s fair complexion, tall stature, good physique, curly hair or ability to speak Tamil and English cannot, by themselves, be treated as evidence that the person follows Christianity.
Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy made the observation while setting aside an order of the District Level Vigilance Committee which had questioned the validity of the community certificate of a man claiming to belong to the Hindu Adi Dravidar community.
The Court found that the Committee had relied on physical appearance and language abilities without any supporting anthropological evaluation.
The Court observed that while the petitioner’s religious practices are relevant, physical traits,such as fair complexion, tall stature, curly hair, or language skills, hold no legal weight without an anthropological assessment.
The petition was filed by M Ravikumar, whose father originally belonged to the Hindu Adi Dravidar community but had subsequently converted to Christianity. Ravikumar was born during this period.
Ravikumar later claimed that he and his father reconverted to Hinduism through ceremonies conducted at an Arya Samaj centre. Following the reconversion, he obtained a community certificate showing him as belonging to the Hindu Adi Dravidar community.
He was serving as an Assistant Commissioner in the Chennai General Commissionerate and was due to retire in May 2026 when the authorities began examining the genuineness of his community certificate.
The authorities subsequently concluded that the certificate was not genuine.
Before the High Court, Ravikumar contended that his family had been practising Hinduism and that both his marriage and his daughter’s marriage had been solemnised according to Hindu rites and customs.
He argued that the Committee had essentially questioned his claim on the basis of his appearance, complexion and physical features, which could not constitute a legally sustainable basis for determining his religious identity.
The authorities, however, alleged that Ravikumar and his family were claiming to profess Hinduism only to avail employment and reservation benefits while continuing to practise Christianity.
It was also pointed out that Ravikumar’s father had been buried in a Christian cemetery. The authorities further contended that the community had not accepted Ravikumar’s alleged reconversion and therefore the claim of genuine reconversion could not be accepted.
The High Court, however, found the Committee’s conclusions to be neither clear nor categorical.
The Court also noted an inconsistency concerning a 1994 ration card, in which the petitioner’s daughter’s name was allegedly shown as Christian. Ravikumar had stated that he got married only in 1994 and that his daughter was born in 1998, making the Committee’s reasoning questionable.
Similarly, the claim that members of the community had not accepted Ravikumar’s reconversion was not supported by evidence, the Court noted.
The High Court consequently set aside the Committee’s order and directed the authorities to provide Ravikumar a fresh opportunity of personal hearing.
The petitioner was directed to appear before the authorities within four weeks and produce relevant documents, including photographs and other material, to substantiate his claim that he was practising Hinduism.
The Committee was directed to conduct an inquiry and pass a fresh order within eight weeks thereafter.
The judgment thus underscored that a person’s religion or reconversion cannot be determined merely from physical appearance, language or other superficial characteristics, and that such a determination must rest on relevant evidence and a proper inquiry.
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