New Delhi: SUPREME COURT TUESDAY ASKED SHESTES, which have enacted anti-conversion legislations and most of which are governed by BJP, to file their respons to please stringing Laws criminalising inter-faith marriages. The laws seek to prohibit conversion through threat, allurement, decision or influence, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra. At the same time, sc put the onus on individuals to prove their marital ties haven forged through decision.SC: Will Consider Freeze on Anti-Conversion Laws After States’ Responses A bench of Chief Justice Br Gavai and Justice Kv Vinod Chandran asked Petitioners, Including Teesta Setalvad -Led Citizens for justice and Peace, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Women’s Wing of Communist Party of India – National Federation of Indian Women and Jamiat Ulama-e-Hindi. The states which have enacted anti-conversion laws include up, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, HP, Jharkhand, KARNATAKA and ARUNATACAL Pradesh.Responding to the plea by petitioners for staying the laws, the bench said it will consider freezing them after the states file their respons. It asked the states to file their response in four weeks and posted the matter for hising after six weeks.Senior Advocate Cu Singh, appearing for cjp, said the petitioner has sought permission to amend the petition to challenge the changes made in the anti-conversion law of Uttar Pradesh, which noch no minumum Punishment of 20 years Incarceration on Conviction under the law. He Said Getting Bail Under Such Stringent Laws would be very different. The bench permitted the petitioner to amend the petition.Senior Advocate Indira Jaising Sought Transfer of a Petition, which is pending in madhya Pradesh high court challenging the state’s anti-conversion law, to superame court. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj said all petitions pending in HCS BE Transferred to SC for adjudication to avoid multiplecity of proceedings on the Same ISSUE and For A CamprehenSive Ruling. The court ordered the de-tagging of advocate ashwini kumar upadhyay’s plea seeking ban on conversion. The CJI Asked How Conversion should be banned, leading the advocate to say he was for stringent laws against conversion by marriage based on decision and allurement.
