2022, നവംബർ 28, തിങ്കളാഴ്‌ച

Right to religion does not include right to convert, Home Ministry tells court


The right to religion does not include the right to convert other people to a particular religion, especially through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement and other means, the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Supreme Court on Monday.

The Ministry said the word ‘propagate’ in Article 25 (right to freedom of religion) does not include the right to convert. It is rather in the nature of a positive right to spread one’s religion by exposition of its tenets.

The government said that, “Fraudulent or induced conversion impinged upon the right to freedom of conscience of an individual apart from hampering public order and therefore, the state is well within its power to regulate or restrict it”.

The Centre said that the statutes enacted in the past to curb “the menace of organised, sophisticated large-scale illegal conversion” was upheld by the Supreme Court.

On November 14, the apex court observed that fraudulent religious conversions “ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens”. It had asked the Centre to “step in” and clarify in an affidavit what it intended to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions.

“There may be freedom of religion but there may not be freedom of religion by forced conversion… This is a very serious issue. Everybody has the right to choose their religion, but not by forced conversion or by giving temptation,” a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Hima Kohli had said.

The case was listed on Monday but was adjourned to December 5. 


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