Madhya Pradesh Court Overrules State’s Denial, Grants Permission for Christian Convention

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, June 17, 2025: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on June 16, 2025, overruled a decision by the local administration of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh, denying permission for a Christian convention to be held in the area.

Pastor Kamesh Solanki, who leads an independent church, had petitioned the court after district authorities repeatedly refused to approve his application to conduct the Atmik Jagrati Mahotsav (Spiritual Awareness Programme), a Christian gathering held annually in the district since 2010.

The court instructed the district authorities to accept a revised application from Solanki and provide proper security for the event, emphasizing that permission could not be denied on “frivolous grounds.

”The district administration had initially denied permission for the convention, scheduled for May 16–18, citing the heightened India-Pakistan tensions following a terror attack in Kashmir.

“We reapplied again, as the terror attack had nothing to do with our convention. But the application was turned down on the apprehension that it might involve religious conversion,” Solanki said while speaking to UCA News.

The district official’s motive was to stop the convention, Solanki alleged. He said government officials recently seem to have developed the "permission-denial” as a strategy “to stifle religious freedom” in the state, run by a pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Solanki added that until recently, Christians did not face difficulties in holding a convention or prayer gathering, and even seeking permission was just a matter of formality. "We used to inform them, and they never objected to it.”

Another Christian leader from the district, Pastor Kiran Badole, shared a similar experience. Badole said he used to organise a similar annual Christian convention. But in 2023, the district administration denied him permission, “suspecting religious conversion and other law and order problems”, he told UCA News on June 17.

Permission denial for Christian gatherings has “now become a trend to deny us permission for a prayer gathering,” he said.

Another group of Christians belonging to the Philadelphia Church in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh held a three-day convention from April 9 to 11, 2025, only after the state court intervened to grant them permission, following the district authorities' denial.

Despite being a minority in the state, Christians in Madhya Pradesh have faced increasing challenges in securing permission for gatherings in recent years.The state is one of 11 in India that have enacted stringent anti-conversion laws aimed at curbing religious conversions through coercion or inducement.

Church leaders argue that these laws are increasingly being misused by right-wing Hindu groups aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to file complaints against Christian clergy.

The state High Court’s decision, overruling the district administration's decision to deny permission for a Christian convention is being seen by Christian leaders in the state as an important legal precedent for challenging future refusals for permissions and for defending their right to freely practise and propagate their faith.

Courtesy: UCA News