State Of Kerala And Anr vs Chandramohanan

The Supreme Court addressed the interpretation of Scheduled Tribes under Article 342 of the Constitution and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Court held that the victim's status as a Scheduled Tribe member is not negated by her parents' conversion to Christianity, thereby reinstating the charges under Section 3(i)(xi) of the Act. The judgment emphasized the protective intent of the law for economically and educationally backward communities, affirming the need for a broader understanding of tribal identity.