The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court's ruling which held that voluntary submission to marriage under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 amounts to "deemed renunciation" of one's native religion and constitutes conversion to Christianity for legal purposes. Through this decision, the High Court had allowed a writ petition challenging the eligibility of Theroor Town Panchayat Chairman V. Amudharani, who had contested for a post reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prashant Kumar Mishra has issued notice on a petition filed by Amudharani challenging the High Court decision. It referred to the marriage register and found that the Christian marriage rites, including the publication of banns — a religious prerequisite indicating both parties’ Christian faith — were fulfilled. Justice Gowri clarified that the Indian Christian Marriage Act does not permit civil interfaith marriages.