Lavanya death case: Petition in SC seeks probe, stringent anti-conversion law

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Published : Feb 1, 2022, 4:58 PM IST

Plea filed in SC seeks directions against fraudulent religious conversions

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in the Supreme Court sought a declaration against forced religious conversions through methods such as threatening, intimidation, luring through gifts among others. The PIL said the practice violates Articles 14, 21, 25 of the Constitution of India.

New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation(PIL) filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeks investigation into the death of 17-year-old Lavanya, who died by suicide in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu allegedly due to torture and pressure by her missionary school to convert to Christianity.

The PIL has been filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay who argued that fraudulent religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits violates Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and seeks directions to the centre and the states to prevent it.

The plea contends that the situation is alarming as many individuals and organisations are carrying out mass religious conversions, especially in the rural belt where the marginalised section is being particularly targetted.

"The tribal belts are mostly illiterate regions. According to IMA research statistics, the 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. The social backwardness opens opportunities for missionaries to work among deprived classes for their socio economic cultural and educational development and through that spread the message of the gospel which eventually results in conversion," reads the petition.

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Citing various instances of forceful conversion, the petitioner says that Centre must enact a law that scrutinises the foreign funds that operate under the veil of NGOs. He stated that foreign-funded individuals and NGOs are given a monthly target for the religious conversions and if this continues and Centre doesn't interfere, the Hindus "will become a minority".

"Petitoner submits that India is Socialist Secular Democratic Republic, and Rule of Law is the basic dictum of our democracy. Article 14 secures not only equality before the law and equal protection of law. The Preamble of the Constitution of India secures economic and political justice to every citizen; thus, it is the duty of the government to take steps to prevent religious conversions by way of intimidation and luring monetary benefits to socially and economically underprivileged people, particularly those belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Therefore, it is prayed that the centre must constitute a judicial Commission or an expert committee to examine the anti-conversion laws and policies of the developed Nations and the best provisions of the anti-conversion law to Laws of the state and enact a law to control forceful and deceitful religious conversion. Alternatively, the Law Commission of India may be directed to prepare a report on religious conversions in India within a period of three months," the petitioner said.

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