The Supreme Court has adjourned a batch of pleas against the anti-conversion law of several states which regulates the religious conversion due to interfaith marriages and matters related to deceitful religious conversions to Friday.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala have said that petitions pertaining to this issue will now be listed on Friday.
The petitioner( Citizens for Justice and Peace) was represented by Senior Advocate CU Singh ,who challenged the law,said that stay should be granted, as states are making laws that are more virulent than the previous one.
The counsel also objected to the centre’s submission that it wants to file an affidavit challenging the locus standi of a petitioner. The counsel said that the Centre has not filed its pleadings in cases where notice has been issued and is seeking to file pleadings where notice has not been issued.
The Attorney General R. Venkataramani said that he has objections to Supreme Court, hearing the pleas challenging state legislations, bypassing the High Courts.
The CJI said during the listing,all the objection will be considered on Friday.
A new application has been filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay who said that saying that the alleged forced religious conversions matters which are been heard by the three-judge bench, may be taken up by a larger bench of five judges as they involve the interpretation of the Constitution.
In yet another application,Upadhyay has asked for modification of the Apex court order dated January 9 which directed the matter to be listed under the title of “In Re: The issue of Religious conversion” to the original title.
The petition filed by Citizens for Justice and Peace in the Supreme Court challenges the validity of the enactments in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
The Top Court has been hearing two Special Leave Petitions which have been filed respectively by the States of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh challenging the interim orders passed by the High Courts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh granting a stay on certain provisions of the State enactments, namely, the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2003 and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2021.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal in the last hearing had stated that five writ petitions have been filed before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, seven before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, two before the High Court of Gujarat, two before the High Court of Jharkhand, three before the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, one before the High Court of Karnataka and one before the High Court of Uttarakhand where the State enactments are challenged.