Today, On 11th November, The Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing on petitions challenging anti-conversion laws enacted by states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, with CJI BR Gavai remarking, “It is not possible, I have to write judgments,” scheduling the matter for December.
The Supreme Court declined to urgently hear the petitions challenging the anti-conversion laws established by various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria announced that the cases will be scheduled for a hearing in December.
A lawyer representing one of the petitioners requested that interim pleas for a stay on the laws be scheduled for the following week.
The Chief Justice, remarked,
“It is not possible. I have to write judgments,”
Earlier, On September 16, the bench had requested responses from multiple states regarding the petitions seeking a stay on their specific anti-conversion laws. The Chief Justice emphasized that the court would consider the requests to suspend the laws once the state replies were submitted.
The bench allocated four weeks for the states to respond and permitted the petitioners to file rebuttals within the following two weeks.
The case was then postponed for six weeks.
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The bench is tasked with assessing the constitutional legitimacy of anti-conversion laws enacted by several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Karnataka.
Previously, the Centre questioned the standing of activist Teesta Setalvad’s NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace, in challenging these contentious state laws regulating religious conversions linked to interfaith marriages.
The Union of India accused the NGO of exploiting the suffering of riot-affected individuals to gather substantial funds for what it termed “some selected political interest.”
Additionally, On January 6, 2021, the apex court agreed to review certain recent and controversial laws from states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand that regulate religious conversions in the context of interfaith marriages.
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The law in Uttar Pradesh addresses not only interfaith marriages but all religious conversions, stipulating detailed procedures for anyone wishing to convert to another faith.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand law imposes a two-year prison sentence for anyone found guilty of coercing or enticing others into conversion, where “allurement” might include cash, job offers, or other material benefits.
The petition submitted by the NGO asserts that these laws infringe upon Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution, which protect individual liberty and the freedom to practice one’s chosen religion.