Hoardings Banning Entry Of Pastors And Converted Christians In Villages Not Unconstitutional: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a petition seeking the removal of hoardings in eight Kanker district villages that prohibit the entry of pastors and “converted Christians,” ruling that such hoardings aimed at preventing forcible religious conversions cannot be considered unconstitutional, the Indian Express reported.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, in its order dated October 28, stated, “The hoardings appear to have been installed by the concerned Gram Sabhas as a precautionary measure to protect the interest of indigenous tribes and local cultural heritage.”

The petition, filed by Kanker resident Digbal Tandi, claimed that the Christian community and their leaders were being ostracised through official instructions allegedly directing local bodies to pass resolutions under the banner “Hamari Parampara Hamari Virasat” (Our Tradition, Our Heritage).

The plea argued that these resolutions misused provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, to promote religious discrimination.

At least eight villages reportedly displayed the hoardings. The petitioner alleged that these moves encouraged hostility and violated constitutional guarantees of equality and religious freedom.

Defending the measure, Additional Advocate General Y S Thakur said, “The hoardings installed by the concerned gram sabha are only for the limited purpose of prohibiting only those pastors of the Christian religion belonging to other villages who are entering the village for the purpose of illegal conversion of the tribal peoples.”

He added that PESA rules empower gram sabhas to protect cultural and social institutions from practices perceived as harmful.

Citing Supreme Court precedents, the bench concluded that the installations “for preventing forcible conversion by way of allurement or fraudulent means cannot be termed as unconstitutional.”

The court also noted that the petitioner had not exhausted alternative statutory remedies before moving the high court.

Please click here to add Swarajya as your preferred and trusted news source on Google

Also Read: ‘Rename Delhi As Indraprastha’: Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal Writes To Amit Shah