Religious freedom doesn’t embody proper to transform others: Centre tells Supreme Court
8 min readBy PTI
NEW DELHI: The Centre advised the Supreme Court on Monday that spiritual freedom doesn’t embody a basic proper to transform different individuals to a selected faith and that it actually doesn’t embrace the suitable to transform a person by fraud, deception, coercion or allurement.
The central authorities mentioned it’s “cognizant of the menace” and legal guidelines that search to regulate such practices are crucial to guard the cherished rights of susceptible sections of the society together with ladies and economically and socially backward lessons.
The Centre’s stand got here on a brief affidavit in response to a plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay searching for course to take stringent steps to regulate fraudulent spiritual conversion by “intimidation” and thru “gifts and monetary benefits”.
ALSO READ | Anti-conversion regulation: MP govt to maneuver SC towards interim reduction from motion given to interfaith {couples}
The affidavit, filed by Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs, asserted that the reliefs sought within the current petition could be taken up “in all seriousness” by the Union of India – and that it’s “cognizant of the gravity and the seriousness of the issue raised in the present writ petition”.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Raviumar, whereas listening to the matter, noticed it was not towards spiritual conversions however pressured conversions, and requested the Centre to file an in depth affidavit on the difficulty after taking data from states.
“You file a detailed affidavit after obtaining the necessary information from the concerned States. We are not against conversion. But there cannot be any forced conversion,” the court docket noticed.
The court docket deferred listening to on the petition in addition to an impleadment utility difficult its maintainability until December 5.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta advised the court docket that pressured conversion was a “serious menace” and a “national issue” and that in its affidavit the central authorities has talked about in regards to the related steps taken by sure states.
The affidavit knowledgeable that public order being a state topic, numerous states — Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana — have handed legal guidelines searching for to curb pressured conversions.
“The Petitioner has, in the present writ petition, highlighted a large number of instances carried out in an organized, systematic and sophisticated manner of conversion of vulnerable citizens in the country through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means. It is submitted that the right to freedom of religion does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion. The said right certainly does not include the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means,” the affidavit mentioned.
READ HERE | Anti-conversion legal guidelines, tedious Special Marriage Act damage interfaith unions
The Centre mentioned the apex court docket has already held in a case that the phrase propagate underneath Article 25 of the Constitution doesn’t envisage the suitable to transform an individual however a proper to unfold ones faith by exposition of its tenets.
It mentioned fraudulent or induced conversion impinges upon the suitable to freedom of conscience of a person and hampers public order and due to this fact the state was nicely inside its energy to control or prohibit it.
“Undoubtedly the right to freedom to religion, and more importantly, the right to conscience of all citizens of the country is an extremely cherished and valuable right which ought to be protected by the Executive and the Legislature,” the Centre’s response mentioned.
“The meaning and purport of the word propagate falling under Article 25 of the Constitution was discussed and debated in great detail in the constituent assembly and the inclusion of the said word was passed by the constituent assembly only after the clarification that the fundamental right under Article 25 would not include the right to convert,” it added.
Upadhyay advised the court docket he has filed a further affidavit within the matter.
In the affidavit, he sought instructions to assessment visa guidelines for spiritual preachers and international missionaries, assessment international contribution guidelines for NGOs and for taking steps to regulate hawala funding.
The high court docket had on September 23 sought responses from the Centre and others to the petition.
Earlier this month, terming pressured spiritual conversion a “very serious” subject, the court docket had taken a severe be aware of proselytization by deception, allurement and intimidation, and requested the Centre to step in and make honest efforts to test the follow.
Upadhyay has submitted in his plea that pressured spiritual conversion is a nationwide downside which must be tackled instantly.
“The injury caused to the citizens is extremely large because there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by ‘hook and crook’,” the plea has submitted.
“Incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also by using black magic, superstition, miracles but Centre and States have not taken stringent steps to stop this menace,” mentioned the plea filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.
The plea has additionally sought instructions to the Law Commission of India to arrange a report in addition to a Bill to regulate spiritual conversion by intimidation and financial advantages.
NEW DELHI: The Centre advised the Supreme Court on Monday that spiritual freedom doesn’t embody a basic proper to transform different individuals to a selected faith and that it actually doesn’t embrace the suitable to transform a person by fraud, deception, coercion or allurement.
The central authorities mentioned it’s “cognizant of the menace” and legal guidelines that search to regulate such practices are crucial to guard the cherished rights of susceptible sections of the society together with ladies and economically and socially backward lessons.
The Centre’s stand got here on a brief affidavit in response to a plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay searching for course to take stringent steps to regulate fraudulent spiritual conversion by “intimidation” and thru “gifts and monetary benefits”.
ALSO READ | Anti-conversion regulation: MP govt to maneuver SC towards interim reduction from motion given to interfaith {couples}
The affidavit, filed by Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs, asserted that the reliefs sought within the current petition could be taken up “in all seriousness” by the Union of India – and that it’s “cognizant of the gravity and the seriousness of the issue raised in the present writ petition”.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Raviumar, whereas listening to the matter, noticed it was not towards spiritual conversions however pressured conversions, and requested the Centre to file an in depth affidavit on the difficulty after taking data from states.
“You file a detailed affidavit after obtaining the necessary information from the concerned States. We are not against conversion. But there cannot be any forced conversion,” the court docket noticed.
The court docket deferred listening to on the petition in addition to an impleadment utility difficult its maintainability until December 5.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta advised the court docket that pressured conversion was a “serious menace” and a “national issue” and that in its affidavit the central authorities has talked about in regards to the related steps taken by sure states.
The affidavit knowledgeable that public order being a state topic, numerous states — Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana — have handed legal guidelines searching for to curb pressured conversions.
“The Petitioner has, in the present writ petition, highlighted a large number of instances carried out in an organized, systematic and sophisticated manner of conversion of vulnerable citizens in the country through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means. It is submitted that the right to freedom of religion does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion. The said right certainly does not include the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means,” the affidavit mentioned.
READ HERE | Anti-conversion legal guidelines, tedious Special Marriage Act damage interfaith unions
The Centre mentioned the apex court docket has already held in a case that the phrase propagate underneath Article 25 of the Constitution doesn’t envisage the suitable to transform an individual however a proper to unfold ones faith by exposition of its tenets.
It mentioned fraudulent or induced conversion impinges upon the suitable to freedom of conscience of a person and hampers public order and due to this fact the state was nicely inside its energy to control or prohibit it.
“Undoubtedly the right to freedom to religion, and more importantly, the right to conscience of all citizens of the country is an extremely cherished and valuable right which ought to be protected by the Executive and the Legislature,” the Centre’s response mentioned.
“The meaning and purport of the word propagate falling under Article 25 of the Constitution was discussed and debated in great detail in the constituent assembly and the inclusion of the said word was passed by the constituent assembly only after the clarification that the fundamental right under Article 25 would not include the right to convert,” it added.
Upadhyay advised the court docket he has filed a further affidavit within the matter.
In the affidavit, he sought instructions to assessment visa guidelines for spiritual preachers and international missionaries, assessment international contribution guidelines for NGOs and for taking steps to regulate hawala funding.
The high court docket had on September 23 sought responses from the Centre and others to the petition.
Earlier this month, terming pressured spiritual conversion a “very serious” subject, the court docket had taken a severe be aware of proselytization by deception, allurement and intimidation, and requested the Centre to step in and make honest efforts to test the follow.
Upadhyay has submitted in his plea that pressured spiritual conversion is a nationwide downside which must be tackled instantly.
“The injury caused to the citizens is extremely large because there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by ‘hook and crook’,” the plea has submitted.
“Incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also by using black magic, superstition, miracles but Centre and States have not taken stringent steps to stop this menace,” mentioned the plea filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.
The plea has additionally sought instructions to the Law Commission of India to arrange a report in addition to a Bill to regulate spiritual conversion by intimidation and financial advantages.
