RELIGIOUS CONVERSION IS ONE’S PERSONAL CHOICE: DELHI HC

inbatv Articles, India, Legal Reforms

What is religion conversion?

India is believed to be a secular state, after 1950 the Constitution of India declares the right to practice one’s religion as a fundamental right, and also mention the same in the preamble of India by the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution enacted in 1976. According to which every citizen of India has the right to practice one’s own religion peacefully.

However, there are instances of people getting converted into another religion either by will or forcefully. Thus religious conversion can be explained as the adoption of another religion which is other than that of practicing previously. It is basically the adoption of a set of beliefs of one religion and giving up of adherence to the earlier one. It can form one religion to another religious denomination within the same religious practice like conversion of Sunni Muslims to that of Shia Muslim or it can be also the conversion of one religion to another like from Hindu to Muslim. There are various factors because of which people change their religion like

  1. Due to free will or by one’s own choice
  2. Due to ones change in beliefs
  3. Due to marriage
  4. Either by force
  5. Or many other reasons  

Facts in brief

PIL was filed by the Adv. Ashwini Upadhyay seeking guidelines for the control of forceful religious conversion by inducement or intimidation.

The petitioner was represented by Senior Counsel Vikas Singh, having the plea that recently there have been many instances where the citizens are getting forcefully religiously converted to another religion. According to him the economically weaker sections specifically SC’s and ST’s are more prone to such conversion. He argued that since the last 20 years there has been a rise in religion conversion of economically downtrodden men, women, children. He further stated that:

‘The Organizations operate very smoothly targeting socially economically downtrodden men, women and children, and in particular of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe community, with fraudulent tricks such as mass prayers of miracle healing and marketing campaigns of black magic’.[1] He further submitted that this religious conversion is violative of not only one’s fundamental rights but also is against Article 51A of the Constitution. 

Thus Singh sought the directions to the Central Government to take appropriate steps to stop this forceful religion conversion by intimidation, threat, black magic, etc.

Delhi HC comment

The Division Bench of Delhi HC Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shankar refuses to issues notice. The Bench asked the Petitioner “What is the controversy here? It’s one’s personal choice to follow whatever religion they want. You’re not even the aggrieved party in this matter, why should we issue a notice in this PIL’, the Bench asked the Petitioner.[2]

And thereby gave the liberty to the petitioner to withdraw PIL.

Submitted By,

Sakshi Raje

Student Reporter, INBA

[1] https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-hc-dismisses-pil-seeking-to-control-religious-conversions-153781?infinitescroll=1

[2] Ibid.