India’s Supreme Court has issued notice to the Rajasthan government regarding a petition challenging the state’s “anti-conversion” laws, which allow officials to demolish homes and seize property based on mere allegations of forcible conversion.
A second petition challenges the legal definitions of words such as conversion, allurement, force, coercion, misinformation and online solicitation.
India’s highest court directed the state to provide a response to the constitutional challenge against the anti-conversion legislation filed by the Jaipur Catholic Welfare Society (JCWS).
It ordered the state and other respondents to file their replies within four weeks.
PETITIONS CHALLENGE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS
JCWS’s legal counsel Rajeev Dhavan argued that the challenge raises questions about the legislature’s authority to enact such legislation and whether the statute exceeds constitutional boundaries.
The petitions specifically contest the constitutionality of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
It grants sweeping powers to executive authorities to forfeit and demolish private properties linked to conversion cases without judicial oversight.
The Act came into force on October 29, just five days before the Supreme Court issued the two petitions challenging it.
“EXECUTIVE OVERREACH THAT BYPASSES JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT”
Human rights activist John Dayal warned that the provisions enable officials to demolish homes and seize property based solely on unproven allegations that disproportionately target religious minorities.
“Rajasthan has weaponised the law to legitimise what the Supreme Court called unconstitutional just last year,” he said.
“It’s licensed demolition. Bureaucrats now wield bulldozers as instruments of persecution.”
“The court must choose: constitutional governance or administrative tyranny against minorities.”
“UNPRECEDENTED EXPANSION OF STATE POWER OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”
Morning Star News reports the challenged provisions mark an unprecedented expansion of state power over religious freedom and property rights within India’s federal system.
It empowers the state government to permanently cancel registration or licenses of institutions found violating any provision of the Act, confiscate their property, freeze financial accounts and impose penalties of A$170,000, effectively barring them from operating in the state.
One lawyer described Rajasthan’s legislation as the “most egregious” among similar anti-conversion laws enacted by various Indian states.
He highlighted that punishment for forcible mass conversions, defined in the Act as converting more than two people, can range from a minimum of 20 years to life imprisonment.
“LAW INSTITUTIONALISES COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT”
“What makes this law particularly insidious is how it institutionalises collective punishment,” Mr. Dayal told Morning Star News.
“An entire family loses their home based on allegations against one member.”
“Innocent property owners become collateral damage in the state’s crusade against religious minorities.”
“The Supreme Court must recognise this for what it is: systematic dispossession masquerading as legislation.”
PART OF A BROADER BATTLE OVER NATIONWIDE ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS
The Rajasthan challenge is part of a broader legal battle over anti-conversion laws across India.
In September, another Supreme Court bench sought responses from at least nine states, which are facing petitions seeking stays on their respective anti-conversion laws.
The court made clear it would consider staying the operation of such laws once replies were filed.
VERDICT CRUCIAL FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACROSS INDIA
Reverend Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) told Morning Star News that the court’s decision is crucial for religious freedom across India.
“EFI successfully challenged similar discriminatory provisions in Himachal Pradesh in 2012,” Mr. Lal said.
“Rajasthan mirrors disturbing patterns in other Hindu Nationalist BJP-governed states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where anti-conversion laws embolden vigilante groups to target Christians under the guise of preventing forced conversion.”
“The reconversion exemption legitimising conversion to Hinduism while criminalising Christianity exposes the true discriminatory intent.”
“We are hopeful the Supreme Court will uphold constitutional guarantees of equality and religious freedom.”
HINDU MOBS CELEBRATED PASSING OF LAW BY ATTACKING CHRISTIANS
The legal challenge comes after a wave of violence against Christians erupted in Rajasthan following the passage of the anti-conversion bill in September.
“The September attacks revealed the law’s true purpose,” John Dayal said.
“Before the governor even signed it, mobs attacked churches, police detained Christians, and properties were raided.”
“The legislation didn’t prevent violence; it unleashed it. Now the state wants legal cover to finish what the vigilantes started.”
TENSE SITUATION IN RAJASTHAN FOR CHRISTIANS
“The situation for Christians in Rajasthan remains tense since September, with churches facing constant surveillance and pastors fearing arrest,” a source told Morning Star News.
“The property demolition provisions create a terrifying reality where families could lose their homes on allegations alone.”
Rajasthan joined 11 other Indian states with anti-conversion laws under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Since the BJP came to power in 2014, incidents of violence and harassment against Christians have increased dramatically, jumping from just over 100 in 2014 to more than 800 in 2024.
Christians comprise just 2.3% of India’s 1.4 billion people.
The outcome of the Supreme Court case is likely to have significant implications for religious freedom and minority rights across India, as similar anti-conversion laws in other states face parallel constitutional challenges.
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