The Supreme Court has issued notice on a challenge to the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Act, 2026, the State’s new law regulating religious conversions, on a plea that seeks to stop authorities from interfering with the religious practices of the Christian community.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, October 26, 2026, issued notice on a petition challenging the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Act, 2026, which regulates religious conversions in the State. The petitioner has also sought a direction restraining Chhattisgarh authorities from interfering with the religious practices of the Christian community, particularly during Christian festivals [Petitioner v. State of Chhattisgarh].
The order was passed by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The names of the petitioner, the counsel who appeared and the next date of hearing were not available at the time of writing.
What the petition seeks
Apart from questioning the validity of the 2026 Act, the plea asks the Court to restrain the State’s authorities from interfering with any religious practice of the Christian community, with particular reference to Christian festivals. The State has yet to file its response, and the Court has expressed no view on the merits of the challenge at this stage.
Background: the 2026 law
The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly passed the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 by voice vote in March 2026, after the Opposition walked out when its demand to refer the Bill to a Select Committee was declined. Governor Ramen Deka gave assent on April 7, 2026. The Act replaces the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968.
The law prohibits conversion by force, fraud, allurement, undue influence or misrepresentation, including through digital platforms, and makes the offence cognizable and non-bailable. The general penalty is seven to ten years’ imprisonment with a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh. Where the person converted is a minor, a woman, a person of unsound mind, or belongs to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class, the term rises to ten to twenty years with a minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh. A mass conversion, defined as two or more persons in a single event, carries ten years to life imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 25 lakh.
A person who intends to convert must apply to an officer not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate, and the details are put up publicly so that objections can be raised. Reconversion to one’s ancestral religion is not treated as a conversion under the Act. The State has described the law as aimed at conversions brought about by deceit, force, allurement or digital means.
Challenge pending in the High Court
Certain provisions of the Act and the Dharma Swatantrata Rules, 2026 are also under challenge before the Chhattisgarh High Court. On October 8, 2026, a Division Bench of the Chief Justice and Justice Santosh Sharma, hearing a petition by V.N. Prasad Rao and others, gave the State three weeks to file its reply, including on an application for interim relief. The petitioners there contend that the provisions violate the rights to freedom of conscience, religion and privacy, that the public notice and multi-department approval process for a voluntary conversion can take 200 to 300 days, and that vague provisions are being used to close religious sites.
They seek the reopening of those sites and protection against social boycott. These are the petitioners’ contentions, and the State’s reply is awaited. It is not yet known whether the Supreme Court plea arises from the same set of facts.
The legal position
Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees every person freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health. In Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), a Constitution Bench upheld the Madhya Pradesh and Odisha anti-conversion statutes, holding that the right to propagate does not include a right to convert another person. Challenges to several newer State conversion laws remain pending before the Supreme Court, and the Chhattisgarh petition now joins that line of litigation.
Case Title: Petitioner v. State of Chhattisgarh (challenge to the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Act, 2026; case number awaited)
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant-led Bench, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 26, 2026
Appearances: Not available at the time of writing