PUNJAB RAO vs D. P. MESHRAM & OTHERS

The Supreme Court held that the term 'profess' in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, means to declare one's belief publicly, thus if an individual publicly declares a conversion to another religion, they are considered to have professed that religion. The Court ruled that the definition of 'Hindu' in Article 25 is limited to orthodox Hinduism and does not encompass Buddhism, thereby affirming that the respondent, who had converted to Buddhism, was not eligible to contest elections reserved for Scheduled Castes. The earlier ruling in Karwade v. Shambhakar was overruled.