A PIL has been filed before the High Court of Allahabad challenging the constitutional validity of UP Govt’s ordinance against religious conversions. The Court is yet to admit the petition.
A Lawyer, Saurabh Kumar, has moved the Court stating that the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, is both morally & constitutionally invalid. Hence, he has requested the court to declare this law as 'ultra vires of the Constitution'. Besides, the petitioner has requested the court to direct the authorities not to take any coercive action in pursuance of the ordinance which was promulgated last month.
According to the plea, of UP CM Yogi Adityanath had on Oct 31, 2020, made a statement that his Govt will bring a law against ‘love jihad’, a term used to discredit marriages between Muslim men & Hindu women as describing it as part of a conspiracy to cause the conversion of Hindu women. During his public statement, Chief Minister referred to a single bench judgment of the High Court Allahabad in the case Priyanshi @ Kum. Shamreen & another v State of UP, which observed that religious conversion just for the sake of marriage was invalid.
The petitioner pointed out that a few days later, a division bench of the high court overruled the single bench verdict which had disapproved religious conversions for the sake of marriage in Salamat Ansari & Ors Vs State of UP & Ors. The division bench in this case held that right to live with a person of his/her choice irrespective of religion professed by them, is intrinsic to right to life & personal liberty, The division bench had observed this while holding the single bench judgment as not good in law.
In this backdrop of the situation, the petitioner has submitted that the impugned (challenged) Ordinance assumes a contrary position to the latest ruling of the HC in Salamat Ansari case, which is in line with the expansive meaning given to ‘personal liberty’ by the Supreme Court in its decision in KS Puttaswamy vs. Union of India (right to privacy) case.
It has also been submitted that these provisions give the state policing powers over a citizen’s choice of life partner or religion & thus, militate against the fundamental rights to individual autonomy, privacy, human dignity & personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution (right to life & personal liberty).
The impugned ordinance also requires every religious conversion to be scrutinized & certified by the state, the plea says, adding theat the very concept of forcing an individual to explain & justify a decision which is closely personal to him/her, before an officer of the state, is contrary to the Constitution of India which ensures such rights.
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