Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850

The Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850, also Act XXI of 1850, was a legislation passed in British India under East India Company rule, that abolished all laws affecting the rights of persons converting to another religion or caste. Under ancient Hindu law a person converting from Hinduism to another religion became ineligible for inheriting property from other family members. The new Act allowed Indians who converted from one religion to another religion equal rights under the law, especially in the case of inheritance.^[1].

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Preamble.

WHEREAS it is enacted by section 9, Regulation VII, 1832, of the Bengal Code, that "whenever in any civil suit the parties to such suit may be of different persuasions, when one party shall be of the Hindu and the other of the Muhammadan persuasion, or where one or more of the parties to the suit shall not be either of the Muhammadan or Hindu persuasions, the laws of those religions shall not be permitted to operate to deprive such party or parties of any property to which, but for the operation of such laws, they would have been entitled; and whereas it will be beneficial to extend the principle of that enactment throughout the territories subject to the government of the East India Company ; It is enacted as follows :—

• 1. So much of any law or usage now in force within the territories subject to the government of the East India Company as inflicts on any person forfeiture of rights or property, or may be held in any way to impair or affect any right of inheritance, by reason of his or her renouncing, or having been excluded from the communion of, any religion, or being deprived of caste, shall oease to be enforced as law in the Courts of the East India Company, and in the Courts established by Royal Charter within the said territories.

1 Short title, "The Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1860." See the Indian Short Titles Act, 1897 (XIV of 1897).

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