SC seeks replies on plea for transfer of cases on religious conversion from HCs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the responses of the Centre and six states on a plea moved by a Muslim body, seeking a transfer of 21 cases that have challenged state laws regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages to the apex court.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha issued a notice on the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s plea moved through advocate MR Shamshad and asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to file a reply.

The Muslim body has sought a transfer of three petitions pending in the Gujarat High Court, five in the Allahabad High Court, three in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, three in the Jharkhand High Court, six in the Madhya Pradesh High Court and one petition in the Karnataka High Court, which have challenged the respective state laws.

“Issue notice in petitions, in which no notices have been issued till now, including the transfer petition,” the bench said. The court was hearing a batch of petitions, including pleas that have questioned alleged religious conversion through allurement or by force and those that have challenged the validity of the state anti-conversion laws.

Besides, two separate petitions have been filed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts that stayed certain provisions of the state laws on conversion.

Appearing in the court on behalf of advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, senior advocate Arvind Datar said in the last hearing, several parties had raised objections to the contentions made in the additional affidavit and therefore, he was withdrawing the same.

Representing one of the parties, senior advocate Dushyant Dave said objectionable contentions were made by Upadhyay not only in the additional affidavit, but also in the writ petitions.

The bench told Datar, “You are appearing here as an officer of the court. Therefore, just ensure that there is no such statements made even in the petition.”

It said if the petitions raise common questions, the court would hear the pleas together.