SC Seeks Replies From States On Pleas Against Anti-Conversion Laws, Sets Six-Week Hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (16 September) sought replies from several states within four weeks on petitions challenging their anti-conversion laws, The New Indian Express reported.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran listed the matter for hearing in six weeks.

The court directed Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka to respond to a batch of pleas seeking a stay on legislations governing religious conversions.

Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh, appearing for Citizens for Justice and Peace, urged the bench to halt the implementation of these laws.

There was great urgency to hear the matter, as States are amending the laws to make these laws more stringent, he said.

Singh submitted that although these legislations are titled the Freedom of Religion Act, they limit religious freedom and impact interfaith marriages and related practices.

“In 2024, the Uttar Pradesh law was amended to increase the punishment for unlawful religious conversion through marriage a minimum of twenty years, which can extend up to life imprisonment for the remainder of one's life,” he was quoted as saying.

He added that for anybody wishing to enter an interfaith marriage, bail would become impossible. Singh further pointed out that “several states have already enacted some, and are enacting, recently Rajasthan has also enacted a law.”

Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing the National Federation of Indian Women, informed the court that her client had also filed an application seeking to stay the laws.

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