Tag: marriages

‘Dangerous proposition’: Jamiat on stand that SC rule on same-sex marriages

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New Delhi: The Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that arguments made by petitioners’ counsel that the top court should make a declaration about legal validation for same-sex marriage as Parliament is not likely to do anything about it will be a “dangerous proposition”.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Jamiat, submitted before a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that he was “very worried” at the beginning of the hearing when the petitioners’ side said that Parliament is not going to do anything about it so the court should make a declaration.
He said it would be a wrong step forward if there were to be a declaration on the premise that Parliament is not likely to pass a law on same-sex union and emphasised that any law of this nature requires public discourse, which includes discourse within and outside parliament.

“I say that it is a very dangerous route to take,” Sibal contended before the bench, which also comprises Justices S.K. Kaul, S.R. Bhat, P.S. Narasimha and Hima Kohli.
Sibal said after the declaration by the court there will be no scope for debate in the Parliament — one that same-sex union is a fundamental right; two, it has to be recognised.
However, the top court said the Parliament can overrule a declaration. Sibal replied that “once your lordships have declared, the Parliament can’t overrule it. I hope that stage has not come for Parliament to overrule what your lordships decide.”
He said the court is now deciding two things — sexual unions and recognition by the state of sexual unions.
Sibal said if question arises whether that sexual union is akin to a marriage and, if yes, is it founded in any provision of the Constitution, and for it to result in certain rights, it can only be done through recognition by the state through legislation, and stressed that there can’t be a declaration from the court.

The top court observed that it takes Sibal’s point that “don’t go into an area where you declare a right to marry.”
Sibal, in the context of acceptance, said it is also at three levels – first by two individuals themselves, then by the family, and thereafter by the society. He argued that nobody can dispute the fact that same-sex couples have a separate sexual identity and even the government has not disputed it.
The top court will continue to hear a batch of petitions seeking legal sanction for same sex marriages on Wednesday.
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#Dangerous #proposition #Jamiat #stand #rule #samesex #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Whether anyone has a fundamental right to marry? SC queries while hearing pleas for same-sex marriages

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New Delhi: While hearing a bath of pleas for same-sex marriages, Supreme Court on Tuesday queried whether anyone has a fundamental right to marry, or is there no fundamental right to marry at all and stressed that the Constitution itself is a tradition breaker.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud asked senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Madhya Pradesh government, “forget the issue of same sex, does anyone have a fundamental right to marry? Or, is there no fundamental right to marry at all? Because your submission is that no one has a fundamental right to marry”.
Dwivedi said that so far the marriage is between two heterosexual individuals.

The bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha, said it is not on heterosexual, “does any citizen of this country for whom this court, our society, our polity, has placed the individual at that highest pinnacle. And, we have gone ahead carved and discovered so many rights — to personhood, right of choice, right of left alone, privacy, dignity… with all this, the question is does a person or citizen have a right to marry”.
Justice Bhat asked: “Is it part of Article 21 or not part of it? We have to start with the premise that there is no unqualified right. Right to free speech is not unqualified right, right to association is not unqualified, personal liberty is not unqualified, right to life. Therefore, there is no absolute right, if we start with that premise. Does the right to life have the concomitant right to marry.”
The bench asked Dwivedi to not start the debate that same sex people do not have right to marry, rather start with is right to marry or is there a right to marry.
Dwivedi said heterosexual couples have the right to marry in accordance with their custom, personal law, and religion, and that is the foundation of their right.
The Chief Justice observed: “Therefore, you concede the fact that there is a right to marry under the Constitution, but it is only confined to only heterosexual persons according to you, or is it your argument that there is no right to marry at all as a fundamental right?”

Justice Bhat said: “Custom, culture, religion, rewind 50 years ago inter-caste marriages were not permitted. Even inter-faith marriages unheard of, therefore, the context of marriage has changed.”
Dwivedi said: “these changes have been brought about by legislation and legislature can alter the customs. The Constitution only gives a fundamental right to form relations, associations, which is in Article 19 (1) (c) which can be regulated. He added that marriage over the years has resulted in social institutions as a result of society’s evolution, and the right to marriage which was existing as a part of social institutions will be accommodated in the right to associate in a particular manner.
Justice Bhat said: “The Constitution has not granted anything. It only recognizes and guarantees, nothing is granted. We’re free citizens. We have taken this to ourselves. Right to speak, to associate, these are part of our inherent rights. The Constitution doesn’t grant it… Even legislation has only recognised the right to marry is inherent. If we say the right to marry is inherent then it is part of the Constitution. You may locate it in (Articles) 19 or 21a.”
Justice Bhat said “the moment you bring tradition, the Constitution itself is a tradition breaker. Because the first time you brought in (Articles) 14, you brought in 15, and 17, those traditions are broken”.
The bench queried, “if those traditions are broken, what is held hallowed in our society in terms of caste?”
“We made a conscious (decision)… and said we don’t want ita.outlawing untouchability in the Constitution. But at the same time let us be alive to the fact that the concept of marriage has evolved.”
Dwivedi submitted that the point is that all these reforms are made by the legislature for the interest of women and children and they do not alter the core aspect of the social institution of marriage, “namely that it’s an institution. Hindu marriage is regarded as a Sanskar”.
Dwivedi contended that the core aspect of marriage remains and pointed at alimony, maintenance, divorce, inter caste and added that ultimately the marriages remain heterosexual marriages.
The bench observed that to state at the extreme that there was no fundamental right to marry under the Constitution would be far-fetched.
“What are the core elements of marriage? If you look at each element, each is protected by constitutional values,” it said.
The Chief Justice said one, marriage itself postulates two individuals to cohabit; two, marriage accompanies with it the existence of family; three, marriage has procreation as a very important ingredient; four, marriage in a significant way is exclusionary to all others; and five, social acceptance of existence of marriage.
The top court will continue to hear arguments in the post -lunch session.
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#fundamental #marry #queries #hearing #pleas #samesex #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Hope to see legal stamp on rainbow marriages: Parents of LGBTQ+ children

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New Delhi: A group of over 400 parents has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, heading a bench hearing the pleas seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage, urging that their LGBTQIA++ wards be granted the right to “marriage equality”.
The letter by Sweekar-The Rainbow Parents’ assumes significance it comes when a five-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI is hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage for the fourth day.
“We desire to see our children and children-in-law find final legal acceptance for their relationship under the Special Marriage Act in our country. We are certain that a nation as big as ours which respects its diversity and stands for the value of exclusion, will open its legal gate of marriage equality to our children too.

“We are growing old. Some of us will touch 80 soon, we hope that we will get to see the legal stamp on the rainbow marriage of our children in our lifetime,” the group said in its letter.
Sweekar-The Rainbow Parents’ is a group formed by the parents of Indian LGBTQIA++ ((lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, and ally) wards with the aim of supporting each other to accept one’s child fully and be happy as a family.
“We are appealing to you to consider marriage equality,” the letter said.
It said from knowing about gender and sexuality, to understanding the lives of our children, to finally accepting their sexuality and their loved ones- the parents have gone through the whole “gamut of emotions”.
“We empathise with those who are opposing marriage equality, because some of us were there too. It took us education, debate and patience with our LIGTQIA++ children to realise that their lives, their feelings and their desires are valid. Similarly, we hope that those who oppose marriage equality will come around too. We have faith in the people of India, the Constitution and the democracy of our nation,” it said.

It referred to the apex court judgement of 2018 by which it decriminalised consensual gay sex.
The judgement ensured LGBTQIA++ people are treated with dignity and acceptance.
“Society is a changing and evolving phenomenon. Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, the judgement by the Supreme Court created a ripple effect on society and has helped,” it said.
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#Hope #legal #stamp #rainbow #marriages #Parents #LGBTQ #children
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
In heterosexual marriages, child may see alcoholic dad thrashing mother: SC

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that in heterosexual couples, a child may see domestic violence – a father becoming an alcoholic, thrashing the mother, and asking her for money as it questioned the arguments that two spouses, who belong to a binary gender, are essential for marriage.
Senior advocate K.V. Viswanathan, representing Zainab Patel, submitted before a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that it is incorrect to say that gay, lesbian, and same-sex couples do not provide the children safety, security, and the upbringing they require.
“Long back in our country, the law was all that is required is the welfare of the child… if that is applied then it does not matter whether it is a heterosexual couple and homosexual couple,” he said, also cited findings based on evidence that they are as suited as heterosexual couple to bring up children.

The Chief Justice said: “Mr Viswanathan, what happens when there is a heterosexual couple and child sees domestic violence… will that child grow up in normal atmosphere, of a father becoming an alcoholic and coming back home and thrashing the mother every night and asking for money for alcohol, so much for heterosexual couple, there no absolutes, as I said.”
Making a passing reference to the bench being trolled on social media for various oral observations, the Chief Justice added: “Even at risk of getting trolled. Now this has become the name of the game for judges to confront, answers to what we say in the court are in the trolls, not in the court.”
Viswanathan submitted that the Centre, in its counter-affidavit, has stressed the importance of procreation, and argued that as people in a same sex marriage cannot procreate, they need not be granted the right to marry. In response, he submitted that even many heterosexual females above the age 45 years may not be able to safely become pregnant, but are still allowed to marry, therefore, procreation cannot be a ground to deny the right to marry.
The bench – also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and, P.S. Narasimha – orally observed that heterosexual couples now with the spread of education, the pressures of the modern age, increasingly, couples are either childless or single child couples.
The bench further observed: “As per us to redefine the evolving notion of marriage, is existence of two spouses who belong to a binary gender is necessary or the requirement for a relationship of marriage, or the law has now progressed sufficiently to contemplate the existence of binary genders may be not necessary for your definition of marriage.”

Earlier during the day, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing some of the petitioners seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage, submitted that personal laws in the country “don’t discriminate” unlike the Special Marriage Act of 1954, while arguing against the mandatory 30-day notice period in it.
He added that the period allows interference from khap panchayats and others opposed to such marriages and that it should not exist for heterosexual couples as well.
The Chief Justice orally observed: “To put it bluntly, is the relationship between a man and a woman so fundamental to our law therefore, the Special Marriage Act… that for us to comprehend that it will also include a relationship between same-sex couples.”
The bench queried Singhvi if his argument is that the institution of marriage in itself is so very important that denying it to same-sex couples, would be contrary to fundamental constitutional values?
It asked that in a heterosexual relationship, there is a rape, then how in a homosexual relationship, will the same principle apply? And, if a marriage is registered, then there will be nuances which will arise, and can we take care of all future eventualities?
Singhvi that there is a flip side, marital rape is not recognized in this country and it is an issue pending, and today, rape is not a recognized crime within marriage, it may be a ground for divorce or cruelty. To this, the bench asked if law which applies on a heterosexual relationship will equally apply on homosexual relationships.
He submitted that their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilisations, and they ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law and the Constitution grants them that right.
Some petitioners have challenged the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 which require parties intending marriage to give advance notice of 30 days, which will be published in the registrar’s office inviting public objections. Petitioners, seeking recognition for same-sex marriage, challenged these provisions and termed them as violative of fundamental rights to privacy. The petitioners claim that the ‘notice and objections’ regime exposes couples who enter into non-traditional marriages to threats and violence from families and vigilante groups.
The bench will continue to hear the matter next week.
The top court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging certain provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act and other marriage laws, as unconstitutional on the ground that they deny same sex couples the right to marry or alternatively to read these provisions broadly so as to include same sex marriage.
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#heterosexual #marriages #child #alcoholic #dad #thrashing #mother
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
Same-sex marriages attack on family system, contravene all personal laws: Jamiat Ulama-i Hind

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New Delhi: Opposing petitions seeking validation of same-sex marriages, Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has moved the Supreme Court saying they are an attack on the family system and in complete contravention of all personal laws.
Seeking intervention in the batch of petitions pending before the top court, the organisation also cited the Hindu traditions, saying the aim of marriage among Hindus is not merely physical pleasure or procreation but spiritual advancement.
It is one of the sixteen ‘sanskars’ in Hindus, the Jamiat said. “This concept of same-sex marriage goes to attack the family system rather than making a family through this process,” Jamiat said.

The top court on March 13 had referred the pleas seeking legal validation of same-sex marriages to a five-judge Constitution bench for adjudication, saying it is a “very seminal issue”.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the submissions on the issue involve an interplay between constitutional rights on the one hand and special legislative enactments, including the Special Marriage Act, on the other.
In its petition, Jamiat said, “The nature of prayers in the present petition is in complete contravention of the established understanding of the concept of marriage in all personal laws between a biological man and a biological woman and thus intends to rake up the very core, i.e., the structure of a family unit prevailing in the personal laws system.”
“The concept of marriage between two opposite sexes is like a basic feature of the concept of marriage itself which leads to the creation of a bundle of rights (maintenance, inheritance, guardianship, custody).
“By these petitions, petitioners are seeking to dilute the concept of marriage, a stable institution, by introducing a free-floating system by introducing the concept of same-sex marriage,” the plea said.

The Jamiat said that in Muslims, marriage is a socio-religious institution between a biological man and a biological woman and any different interpretation given to the marriage shall lead to the persons claiming to be married under this category as non-adherents.
In a historic judgement on September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual gay sex between adults after years of activism.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the government has opposed the petitions and submitted that despite the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the petitioners cannot claim a fundamental right for same-sex marriage to be recognised under the laws of the country.
At the same time, it submitted that though the Centre limits its recognition to heterosexual relationships, there may be other forms of marriages or unions or personal understandings of relationships between individuals in a society and these “are not unlawful”.
It said western decisions sans any basis in Indian constitutional law jurisprudence cannot be imported in this context, while asserting that granting recognition to human relations is a legislative function and can never be a subject of judicial adjudication.
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#Samesex #marriages #attack #family #system #contravene #personal #laws #Jamiat #Ulamai #Hind
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
Child marriages will be eliminated in Assam by 2026: Himanta

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Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Monday that his government is determined to eliminating the child marriage menace by 2026 from the state.
Samra, while replying to a question by Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, said, “The state government has taken a series of measures to stop child marriages.”
“Child marriage must be stopped in Assam by 2026. To put an end to it, our government will take decisive measures in coming days,” he continued.
The Chief Minister further said, that the state government has set aside Rs 200 crore in this budget to oppose each case of child marriage. There will be a mission against child marriages.
“We will start a campaign against child marriage in the state, and we will make arrests around once every two to three months. A helpline will be set up. Thus far, charge sheets were given in 900 cases and the police followed the law,” stated Himanta Biswa Sarma.
He added that his government had taken steps to spread awareness against child marriages.
“Our government will strive towards the victim’s rehabilitation by offering scholarships, free schooling, and free rice programmes,” Sarma added.

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#Child #marriages #eliminated #Assam #Himanta
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
Assam govt’s motive malicious: Owaisi on crackdown on child marriages

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Lucknow: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday questioned the Assam government’s motive behind its crackdown on child marriages in the state and said the exercise reflects a “failure of governance” by the BJP dispensation.
“There is a malicious motive behind all the action that is being taken,” the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader told PTI in a telephonic interview, when asked about the hundreds of arrests made in the northeast state.
More than 2,250 people have been arrested in Assam till Saturday in the crackdown on child marriage, according to an official statement by the state government.
Owaisi, who was in Lucknow to attend the executive committee meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said, “As you know the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was passed in 2006, and it is the BJP’s government which is in power in Assam for the last six years. Now, why did the government not stop all these in the last six years? This really shows the failure of their governance.”
“Experts have said that if you want to stop child marriages, you have to open a lot of schools, (but) you have not done that. You have closed down the madrassas too which were imparting some form of education,” he alleged.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday asserted that the drive against child marriage launched by the state police from the previous day would continue till the next Assembly elections in 2026.
A total of 2,258 people have been arrested so far across the state based on 4,074 FIRs, the Assam government statement said.
Speaking to PTI, Owaisi asked who would now take care of the poor women who have been left in the lurch after the state government’s crackdown on child marriages.

“Now, who will look after those poor women? Forget about whether they are Muslims or not Muslims or Hindus? Who will take care of them now? What steps is the government taking to look after them? … many of them have children now,” he said.
Owaisi also informed that he recently shared a tweet about an Assamese woman who has died by suicide.
“You must remember that at 18-plus, we allow consensual sexual relationships. So, how does it make sense if at 18 she is having a consensual sexual relationship and then you are saying it is child marriage? Even in the law, this needs to be looked into,” he said.
“It is a completely biased government against Muslims, discriminatory against Muslims. For example they went on an (anti)-encroachment drive, wherein they made hundreds of Muslim families homeless in Assam. In upper Assam, they gave ‘pattas’ (land strip) to landless people, but in lower Assam, they don’t do that,” Owaisi alleged.
The Assam cabinet had recently decided that those having married girls below 14 years of age will be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The council of ministers also took the decision that cases under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 will be registered against those who have married girls in the 14-18 years age group.
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#Assam #govts #motive #malicious #Owaisi #crackdown #child #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
Asaduddin Owaisi raises concern over Assam govt’s crackdown against child marriages

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Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday raised concern after the Assam government’s crackdown against child marriages.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the Hyderabad MP said, “What will happen to those girls who have been married? The Assam government has booked 4000 cases and is talking of booking 4000 more. So, who will take care of those girls? You are putting a mountain of troubles over them.”
“You are in the government for six years, so it is a failure of the state. Why haven’t you built more schools in the state,” he added.
He further accused the BJP of being “biased” and alleged that the government is not giving land to people in Lower Assam.
“This government is biased against Muslims. They gave land to landless people in Upper Assam but didn’t give the same to people in Lower Assam, instead are evicting people in huge numbers,” he said.
The AIMIM chief also raised concern over the adjournment of Parliament for the second day in a row.
“We want to raise certain issues in the Parliament, but the government is not letting the Parliament function. It is benefitting them as they are able to get away with the questions,” he further said.
Notably, considering a surge in cases of child marriage (below the age of 18 years) of Assam women as reported by the National Report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led State government is carrying the crackdown against child marriages.

As per the latest development, Assam police have arrested 2258 people, across the state, involved in child marriage incidents.
Police said they have a list of 8,000 accused and as the drive continues, the figures will increase.
The drive was launched on Thursday night after CM Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department directing them to launch a crackdown to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage.
This episode of this slew of crackdowns dates back to May 5, 2022, when the Health Ministry released the fifth report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), carried out in 2019 and 2020.
The report, following a fine and detailed reading by the Assam government, showed serious concerns regarding child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality.
It was found in the report that 31.8 per cent of women in Assam between 20-24 age were married at a minor age or before 18 years. This was even higher than the national average of 23.3 per cent.
Of these 31.8 per cent of women, more than half (50.8 per cent) cases were from All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MP Badruddin Ajmal’s parliamentary constituency, Dhubri.
As per the government, child marriage leads to teenage pregnancy in women causing maternal deaths in the state.
According to the Assam police data, 139 people have been arrested in Biswanath, 126 in Dhubri, 120 in Baksa, 114 in Barpeta, 97 in Nagaon, 96 in Hojai, 94 in Kokrajhar, 87 in Bongaigaon, 79 in Karimganj, 76 in Hailakandi, 72 in Cachar, 72 in Goalpara district in cases related to child marriage.
Director General of Assam Police (DGP) GP Singh, while addressing a press conference on Friday, said that 4,074 cases related to child marriage have been registered at different police stations across the state.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the crackdown against child marriages in the state would continue in the coming days.
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#Asaduddin #Owaisi #raises #concern #Assam #govts #crackdown #child #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
Assam: Crackdown against child marriages continues; over 2K held

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Guwahati: Continuing the crackdown on child marriages, Assam Police have arrested a total of 2,258 people so far, an official said on Saturday.
Rajib Saikia, PRO of Assam Police, has said that the highest numbers of arrests were reported from Biswanath district where 139 people were held and 97 cases were registered against child marriage.
Barpeta district has the second highest number of arrests, which stands at 128 against the total number of 81 cases lodged.
The Muslim-dominated district of Dhubri logs the third-highest arrests. Already 127 people have been arrested by the police. Here, 374 complaints of child marriages have been registered.
Meanwhile, many women in different parts of the state have expressed displeasure over the arrest of their husbands. They have been protesting outside the police stations against the crackdown. Some of them even asked “who will feed the family if their spouses are jailed”.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday, however, made it clear that the police operation against child marriage will continue in the state.
“People should not try to draw sympathy on this issue. This is extremely necessary to save the future generation,” he said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
SC to hear pleas challenging laws regulating conversions due to interfaith marriages

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on February 3 a batch of pleas challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala noted that a transfer plea was mentioned in the morning.
“We can list it, issue notice and hear it together. The transfer petition will also be numbered by then. The attorney general can also examine. We will hear all on Friday,” the bench said.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate CU Singh, appearing in the court on behalf of NGO “Citizens for Justice and Peace” of activist Teesta Setalwad, submitted that people cannot get married due to these state laws and the situation is very grave.
Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted that these are state legislations that have been challenged before the apex court and the high courts concerned should hear the cases.
The top court had earlier asked the parties challenging the anti-conversion laws of several states to file a common petition seeking a transfer of the cases on the issue from various high courts to the apex court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had challenged the locus standi of “Citizens for Justice and Peace”, which is one of the petitioners. Mehta had not elaborated on the reasons for questioning the NGO’s locus.
The bench had noted that there were at least five such pleas “before the Allahabad High Court, seven before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, two each before the Gujarat and Jharkhand high courts, three before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and one each before the Karnataka and Uttarakhand high courts”, and said a common petition for their transfer can be filed.

Besides, two separate petitions have been filed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts that stayed certain provisions of the state laws on conversion.
Earlier, a bench headed by Justice M R Shah had said religious conversion is a serious issue that should not be given a political colour.
It had sought the attorney general’s assistance on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
Another bench headed by the CJI had, on January 2, sought to know the status of the cases pending before different high courts challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversion due to interfaith marriages and said if the cases are similar in nature, it may transfer those to itself.
It had asked “Citizens for Justice and Peace” and the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to apprise it of the status of the cases challenging the state laws on conversion through marriage.
The apex court had, on January 6, 2021, agreed to examine certain new and controversial laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages.
The Uttar Pradesh law relates to not only interfaith marriages but all religious conversions and lays down elaborate procedures for anyone who wishes to convert to another religion.
The Uttarakhand law entails a two-year jail term for those found guilty of religious conversion through “force or allurement”. The allurement can be in the form of cash, employment or material benefits.
The plea filed by the NGO has alleged that the legislations violate articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution as those empower the State to suppress an individual’s personal liberty and freedom to practise the religion of his choice.
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has also moved the Supreme Court, challenging the anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It has contended that these laws have been enacted to “harass” interfaith couples and implicate them in criminal cases.
The Muslim body, in its PIL filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, has said the provisions of all such laws of the five states force people to disclose their faith and consequently, invade their privacy.
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#hear #pleas #challenging #laws #regulating #conversions #due #interfaith #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 30, 2023