"All Conversions Can't Be Said To Be Illegal' : Supreme Court Refuses To Stay MP HC Order Against Declaration Before DM To Change Religion

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on the special leave petition filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh against the High Court restraining the government from taking coercive action against any person who contravenes Section 10 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 which requires a person desiring to convert religion to give a declaration in this regard to the District Magistrate. The High Court goes wrong” Justice Shah: “The Section is not stayed, the action under section 10 is stayed” SG: “Yes, On the ground that there is one stay granted by the Gujarat High Court. 10 is a different person” SG: “10 is where I am converting myself so I will intimate” Justice Shah: “such a provision was not there in the 1968 act” SG: “The provision in the 1968 Act says whoever converts any person from one religion to another either by performing any ceremony by himself for such conversion as a religious priest or takes part directly or indirectly in such ceremony shall take prior permission for such proposed conversion from the District Magistrate concerned by applying in such form as may be prescribed" Justice Shah: “it is para materia to 10” SG: “In the CB judgment, your lordships had said, 'we have no doubt that it is in the sense that word ‘propagate’ in article 25 has been used, for what the article grants is not the right to convert but to transmit or spread by an exposition of its tenets. Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience to every person and not merely the followers of one particular religion and that in turn postulates that there is no fundamental right to convert one person to one’s own religion because if one person purposely undertakes conversion to his religion as opposed from his efforts to transmit or spread the tenets of his religion, that would impinge on the freedom of conscience guaranteed to all citizens of India alike'” SG: “If you look at the reasoning of the High Court in the impugned order, it looks to an interim order passed by the Gujarat High Court which is subject matter of SLP before your Lordships. You marry a person outside your religion and convert that person” Justice Shah: “before the High Court, it was a PIL?” SG: “Yes, not an affected person” The bench then proceeded to dictate its order: “SG Tushar Mehta has taken us through provisions of section 10 of the Madhya Pradesh freedom of religion act 2021 which reads as under:….