India’s Supreme Court (pictured) has agreed to hear petitions challenging the constitutionality of anti-conversion laws in various states across the country. Anti-conversion legislation is currently in force in eleven states: Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan (the state with the newest anti-conversion laws, passed this month), Uttarakhand (which amended its laws in August to make them among the harshest of any state) and Uttar Pradesh.
Officially called “Freedom of Religion” laws, they are intended to stop Hindus being converted to other religions and forbid conversion by “force, fraud or allurement” but extremists use them as a licence to attack Christians, claiming they are forcing Hindus to convert. Typically, attackers raid church services, beat those gathered and have pastors arrested on false charges of forcibly converting Hindus.
On 16 September the Supreme Court issued notices to the state governments requesting responses regarding petitions challenging their anti-conversion laws. The governments were given four weeks to respond, with the case scheduled to be heard in six weeks.
Petitioners from various organisations argue that anti-conversion laws are being weaponised against Christians and other religious minorities and that the laws enable false accusations, often without supporting evidence, under the guise of preventing forced conversions.
During the initial hearing a lawyer representing rights group Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) emphasised the urgency of an early hearing because of the trend for states to amend their laws to make them more stringent with harsher punishments. The lead petition was filed by CJP in 2020, but it has since been joined by various other groups and individuals who have also filed petitions.
Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for the petitioners, told the court, “The batch of laws are characterised as Freedom of Religion Acts, but they contain everything but freedom. They are virtually anti-conversion laws.” He sought a stay of the laws, stating that they are becoming increasingly harsh and arguing that bail conditions are such that the burden of proof is on the convert to show that they were not forced or “allured” into changing faith.
Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and member of CJP who is based in the western state of Gujarat, told UCA News: “This is a great step from the Supreme Court. Our petitions have been pending in the top court since 2020, and some states are yet to respond to the challenges to their laws” which, he noted, are “contrary to the provisions of the Indian Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to profess, practice, and propagate a religion of one’s choice”.
(International Christian Concern, The Wire, UCA News, Voice of the Martyrs Canada)
Photo credit: Subhashish Panigrahi/Wikimedia