States must file counter-affidavits in anti-conversion law cases in three weeks: SC

Even as the court hears petitions challenging anti-conversion laws in nine States, more States are enacting their own laws on the issue, citing ‘love jihad’, ‘forcible conversions’, says lawyer for petitioners

The Supreme Court on Friday gave States three more weeks to file counter-affidavits to petitions challenging their anti-religious conversion laws, even as senior advocate Dushyant Dave said that 40 people are on the run and missionaries catering to the needs of the poor in Uttar Pradesh have been shut down owing to these statutes.

Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, senior advocate C.U. Singh, for petitioner Citizens for Justice and Peace, said that more States are trying to “jump into the bandwagon” even while the court is hearing the case.

“While the court is dealing with laws enacted by nine States, the tenth and the eleventh States are trying to jump into the bandwagon by citing love jihad, forcible conversion, etc,” Mr. Singh submitted, urging the court to hear the case without delay.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said that his Bench does not keep a case pending for long and gave the petitioners two weeks to submit their rejoinders after the States have filed their counter-affidavits.

The court said that States which have been made parties in multiple petitions in the case need to only file a common counter-affidavit in order to save time.

The case concerns the anti-conversion enactments of nine States, including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

The Supreme Court had previously refused to refer to the Law Commission of India the question of whether “forcible conversion” should be made a separate offence relating to religion under the Indian Penal Code.