SC seeks states’ replies on anti-conversion laws

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Tuesday asked states, which have enacted anti-conversion legislations and most of which are governed by BJP, to file their responses to pleas challenging stringent provisions in those laws criminalising inter-faith marriages. The laws seek to prohibit conversion through threat, allurement, deceit or influence. At the same time, SC put the onus on individuals to prove their marital ties haven’t been forged through deceit.SC: Will consider freeze on anti-conversion laws after states’ responses A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K V Vinod Chandran asked the states which have enacted the anti-conversion laws, also known as ‘Freedom of Religion Acts’, to respond to the allegations levelled by petitioners, including Teesta Setalvad-led Citizens for Justice and Peace, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, women’s wing of Communist Party of India – National Federation of Indian Women and Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. The states which have enacted anti-conversion laws include UP, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, HP, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh.Responding to the plea by petitioners for staying the laws, the bench said it will consider freezing them after the states file their responses. It asked the states to file their response in four weeks and posted the matter for hearing after six weeks. Senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for CJP, said the petitioner has sought permission to amend the petition to challenge the changes made in the anti-conversion law of Uttar Pradesh, which now provide for a minimum punishment of 20 years incarceration on conviction under the law. He said getting bail under such stringent laws would be very difficult. The bench permitted the petitioner to amend the petition.Senior advocate Indira Jaising sought transfer of a petition, which is pending in Madhya Pradesh high court challenging the state’s anti-conversion law, to Supreme Court. Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj said all petitions pending in HCs could be transferred to SC for adjudication to avoid multiplicity of proceedings on the same issue and for a comprehensive ruling. The court ordered the de-tagging of advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay’s plea seeking ban on conversion. The CJI asked how conversion could be banned, leading the advocate to say he was for stringent laws against conversion by marriage based on deceit and allurement.