Forced Religious Conversions Is Against The Constitution: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has said that ‘forced religious conversions are a very serious issue for the whole nation as well as it’s against the Indian constitution.

The Supreme Court stated on Monday that forced religious conversion is a major issue and is against Indian law, arguing that conversion should not be the goal of charitable giving. 

The highest court also gave the Center one week to submit a thorough report on the matter. The case will now be heard by the supreme court on December 12.

The Supreme Court’s bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar stated thus in response to an argument made by attorney Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay: 

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“The objective of charity should not be conversion. Enticement can be harmful. The petition asked for guidance on how to stop fraudulent religious conversion by “threaten[ing], intimidate[ing], and deceitfully luring through presents and monetary advantages” at the Centre.

The Centre’s Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, informed the Supreme Court during the hearing that they are gathering data on religious conversion through such unethical activities from the states and asked for a week to submit more in-depth information on the subject. 

The subject will be addressed again on December 12 after the court gave him until then.

The court reportedly told a lawyer not to be too technical when he inquired about the plea’s maintainability, as reported by the news agency PTI. 

“Our goal is to find a solution. We’re here for a good reason. Our goal is to make things right. However, the aim must be taken into consideration even if the charity’s goal is positive.”

“Don’t interpret it as hostile. It is a really important problem. In the end, it is unconstitutional. When everyone remains in India, they must conduct themselves in accordance with Indian culture, the panel noted, according to the Supreme Court.

Some religious organizations have come under fire for allegedly trying to convert non-religious people by providing various sorts of charity, such as education for their kids.

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The top court recently stated that forced religious conversion may endanger national security and restrict individuals’ freedom of religion, and it urged the Center to intervene and make real attempts to address the “extremely severe” problem. 

On September 23, the top court requested comments on the plea from the Centre and others.

In his argument, attorney Ashwini Upadhyay noted that forced religious conversion is a widespread issue that has to be resolved right away. 

The submitted appeal read, “The hurt to the citizens is exceptionally great as there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by ‘hook and crook’.”

The petition further requests that the Law Commission of India be directed to draft a report and a bill to prevent religious conversion by coercion and financial gain.