In Process Of Bringing Anti-Conversion Law : Rajasthan Govt Tells Supreme Court

The State of Rajasthan has informed the Supreme Court that it is in the process of making an anti-conversion law. In an affidavit filed in response to a PIL seeking to prevent fraudulent and forceful religious conversions, the State submitted that it does not have any specific legislation dealing with religious conversions.

However, the State submitted that it "is in the process of bringing its own legislation and till such time will strictly abide by the law on the subject and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court."

The petition was filed by BJP member Advocate Ashwini Upadhyaya in 2022 seeking directions to the Union and States to take "stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits."

In November 2022, while considering the petition, a bench comprising Justices MR Shah and Hima Kohli, observing that forceful religious conversions, if true, were a "serious issue" which could affect the security of the nation, had sought the response of the Centre. The Court also sought the responses of the States.

The Court also took exception to some statements made by the petitioner in the petition that were derogatory of minority religions and asked him to remove them. The Court also removed the name of the petitioner from the causetile and changed it to "In Re: The Issue Of Religious Conversion."

Along with this petition, the Court has tagged other PILs which have been filed challenging the laws passed by the States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat etc., regarding religious conversions.

Recently, while hearing another matter, a Supreme Court bench orally remarked that some parts of the UP anti-conversion law appeared to be violative of Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteeing religious freedom.

[Case Title: In Re: The Issue Of Religious Conversion WP(C) No. 63 of 2022]