SC seeks Attorney General's assistance on plea against forced religious conversion

New Delhi [India], January 9 : The Supreme Court on Monday sought the assistance of R Venkataramani, Attorney General for India, in a plea claiming that fraudulent and deceitful religious conversion is rampant across the country.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar looking into the seriousness and importance of the matter asked Attorney General to assist the court.
The apex court retitled the case as an "issue of religious conversion" after Tamil Nadu said that the issue before the court was "politically motivated" as petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay was a spokesman of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"This is a politically motivated PIL. There is no question of such conversions in Tamil Nadu. Let the legislature decide such things," senior advocate P Wilson appearing for Tamil Nadu told the bench.
Taking a serious view of Tamil Nadu describing the matter as "politically motivated", the court said, "Don't tell us it is politically motivated. Once we take up a matter, it is decided on merits. It is not the cause of the matter."
Posting the matter for further consideration on February 7, the apex court said the issue is what should be done with the religious conversion by use of force, allurement or something else.
The apex court said that it has to consider the issue from a larger perspective.
"We are not going to consider allegations or counter-allegations. We are not concerned with one, two or three States but concerned with the entire country. If it is happening in your State, it is bad. If not, good. Do not see it as targeting one State. Do not make it political," the bench said.
The court further said that there is no law or provision in Indian Penal Code to deal with forced/wrongful conversion.
Earlier, the apex court had asked the Centre to file a detailed affidavit after collecting information from the State governments on anti-conversion laws while saying that the issue of forced or deceitful religious conversion is serious.
Every charity or good work is welcome, but the intention has to be checked, the bench has observed.
The top court had earlier also remarked that forced religious conversion is a "very serious issue" and may affect "security of the country" along with the freedom of conscience of citizens as far as religion is concerned.
It had said, "It is a very dangerous thing. Everyone has freedom of religion. What is this forceful conversion?"
The plea claimed that fraudulent and deceitful religious conversion is rampant across the country and that the Central government has failed to control its menace.
The plea sought directions to the Law Commission of India to prepare a report and a Bill to control "deceitful religious conversion".
The Central government has also filed an affidavit in the apex court stating that freedom of religion does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion.
It is "cognizant of the gravity and the seriousness" of the issue, said the Centre adding that such issue of conversion shall be "taken up in all seriousness by the Union of India and appropriate steps shall be taken as the Central government is cognizant of the menace".
The Gujarat government also filed an affidavit saying that the right to freedom of religion does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion and that too through fraud, deception, and allurement.