The Allahabad High Court (AHC) in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh ruled on Feb. 10 that caste, determined by birth, remains unchanged despite religious conversion or inter-caste marriage. This ruling was delivered by the AHC while hearing a criminal case involving an assault against a woman under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The woman belonged to the Scheduled Caste, but her husband was part of a non-Scheduled Caste.