Apex Court To Hear Plea Against Forced Religious Conversions On January 2

Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on January 2 a fresh plea seeking directions to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversions by "intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits."

A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar is likely to take up the plea filed by advocate Ashutosh Kumar Shukla which has also sought creation of a special task force to keep check on deceitful religious conversions.

Contending that the State is obliged to protect fundamental rights of the citizens, the plea said the right to propagate one's religion does not give a right to convert any person to one's own religion.

"The tribal belts are mostly illiterate regions. According to research statistics, conditions of health, education, diet and drinking water are rated as poor among the tribals who inhabit these areas.

"These areas are the most socially backward. This social backwardness opens opportunities for missionaries

to work among deprived classes for their socio-economic, cultural, educational development and through that spread message of gospel which eventually results in conversion," the plea alleged.