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NEW DELHI: Supreme Court connected Monday sought responses from Centre and states connected a petition by National Council of Churches alleging state of religion laws enacted by states interruption citizens’ cardinal rights by criminalising voluntary and conscience-based conversions and arguing that anterior govt-approval for conversion violates individuals’ close to privacy.One of the laws challenged by the relation is the astir 60-year-old Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967. Madhya Pradesh had enacted Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam successful 1968 to forestall large-scale conversion of tribals.SC had upheld the law validity of the Orissa and MP laws successful 1977 successful Rev Stanislaus vs State of MP lawsuit and said portion the close to propagate religion is simply a cardinal right, it does not see close to convert.Arunachal had enacted a akin instrumentality successful 1978; Gujarat successful 2003; Himachal successful 2007; Jharkhand successful 2017; Uttarakhand successful 2018; MP, UP and Karnataka successful 2021; and Haryana successful 2022. Given the challenges to authorities state of religion laws successful respective HCs, SC had transferred each petitions to itself successful 2023. Rajasthan passed state of religion instrumentality successful 2025.Challenging each the laws, the churches association, done elder advocator Meenakshi Arora, said the laws presume each conversions hap done allurement, fraud oregon coercion and hence telephone for anterior intimation and enquiry and support from a territory magistrate, frankincense compelling individuals to warrant idiosyncratic decisions.
Solicitor wide Tushar Mehta said states person capable ground to enact these laws and that a constitution seat of SC has already approved the law validity of these laws. That determination covers the pending cases arsenic good arsenic this caller one, helium held.The petitioner said the laws person deliberately defined conversion, allurement and inducement vaguely to springiness uncanalised discretion to the authorities, which ‘produces a chilling effect connected escaped speech, spiritual propagation’.
The relation said stricter provisions relating to conversion of women successful state of religion laws “deny women adjacent decisional autonomy”.The petitioner said, “Implementation of the impugned Acts crossed states reveals a azygous signifier of misuse. Routine worship, supplication meetings, charitable activities and interfaith marriages are criminalised done expansive interpretations of ‘allurement’ and ‘inducement’.”“Vigilante groups relation arsenic de facto enforcers, portion constabulary authorities enactment mechanically connected complaints without autarkic scrutiny. This state-enabled vigilantism legitimises societal hostility, instils fearfulness among number communities, thereby corroding the secular cloth of the Constitution,” it said.
