- 16 September, 2025
New Delhi, September 16, 2025 — The Supreme Court on Tuesday pressed a petitioner seeking a blanket ban on “deceitful” religious conversions to clarify who, in fact, has the authority to decide whether an interfaith marriage amounts to fraud.
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, hearing arguments against the controversial anti-conversion laws enacted by 10 states, underscored that the court’s task is to test the constitutionality of laws, not legislate from the bench.
The petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, seeks to curb conversions carried out through “allurement and duplicity”. Upadhyay argued that while Article 25 of the Constitution permits the propagation of faith, it does not sanction conversions achieved through force or fraud.
But senior advocate C.U. Singh, representing Citizens for Justice and Peace along with senior advocates Indira Jaising and Vrinda Grover, countered that the laws in question — passed in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and more recently Rajasthan — are anything but about freedom.
“These laws are labelled ‘Freedom of Religion Acts’, but they contain everything except freedom. In reality, they are anti-conversion laws,” Singh submitted.
He urged the court to stay their implementation, warning that the provisions have grown increasingly draconian. Amendments now allow third parties to file complaints against interfaith couples, with penalties running up to 20 years’ imprisonment, even life sentences. Bail conditions, Singh argued, rival those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, with the burden of proof shifted onto the convert to demonstrate the absence of coercion.
“For anybody who marries across faiths, bail becomes nearly impossible. These laws affect not just marriages but everyday religious practices and festivals, leaving communities vulnerable to mob action,” he added.
At the heart of the matter, the Chief Justice asked: “But who would find out that a religious conversion was deceitful or not?” — a question that pierces directly to the constitutional core of these enactments.
The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, objected to the petitioners’ renewed push for a stay, reminding the court that the matter had already been pending for three years.
In earlier hearings in 2023, the apex court had declined to send the issue of “forcible conversions” to the Law Commission for possible inclusion in the Indian Penal Code, while the government questioned the NGO’s standing to challenge state laws.
Singh, however, warned that each successive enactment builds upon the last, producing ever more virulent versions of the same template, steadily eroding fundamental freedoms. He argued that together they have created a chilling effect on the right to profess, practise, and propagate religion — rights explicitly safeguarded under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court will revisit the case in six weeks to consider whether the contested laws should be stayed.
Catholic Connect journalist mentions, for many, this is not just another legal battle, it is a defining moment. For anyone who cares about securing the constitutional freedom of religion, it is now or never — the time to get their act together before fundamental rights are irretrievably undermined.
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