Gujarat HC declines govt plea to modify order on conversion law; state to move SC
Ahmedabad, Aug 26: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday turned down the state government's plea seeking rectification of its order last week in which it stayed the operation of section 5 of the new anti-conversion law that requires religious priests to take permission from the authorities before changing a person's faith.
Unhappy with the HC verdict, the BJP government has decided to move the Supreme Court, saying the law was enacted with a "noble" intention of protecting girls from "those who trap them using fake Hindu identities" and section 5 is the "key element" of the entire legislation.
Section 5 of the Gujarat Freedom Of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, mandates that religious priests must take prior permission from the district magistrate for converting a person from one faith to another.
Moreover, the one who got converted also needs to "send an intimation" to the district magistrate in a prescribed form. Non-adherence to these rules would attract up to one year in jail under the law which came into force more than two months ago.
Some sections of the new law have been challenged in the court by an organisation.
"We do not find reason to make any changes in the order passed by us on August 19," a division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav after hearing the arguments put forth by Advocate General Kamal Trivedi.
Trivedi, on behalf of the state government, told the bench that section 5 of the 2021 Act was there ever since the original law was enacted in 2003 and it has nothing to do with marriage per se.
He tried to convince the judges that a stay on section 5 would actually stay the application of the entire law and no one would approach the authorities for seeking permission before getting converted.
On August 19, the HC stayed sections 3, 4, 4A to 4C, 5, 6 and 6A of the amended Act pending further hearing, saying they "shall not operate merely because a marriage is solemnised by a person of one religion with a person of another religion without force or by allurement or by fraudulent means and such marriages cannot be termed as marriages for the purposes of unlawful conversion".
Trivedi told the court on Thursday that section 5 does not use the word "marriage" and it deals with permission from the district magistrate for conversion, either before or after marriage, or even in cases without marriage.
"Since there is a stay on section 5, no one will come for permission even if it's a voluntary conversion without marriage. They will say that the high court had stayed the rigors of section 5. It is meant for such propositions where everything is willingly done. This order means the whole law now stands stayed," said Trivedi, urging the bench to lift the stay on section 5 by rectifying the previous order.
"The other sections which have been stayed are related to marriage, while section 5 is for legal voluntary conversion. Under that section, if someone goes to the priest, the priest has to take permission. It deals with lawful conversion. Why should a section dealing with lawful conversion be stayed?" asked Trivedi.
However, the bench told Trivedi that it is his interpretation that the court has stayed the prior permission part for all sorts of conversions.
"If a bachelor wants to get converted, he will require that permission. We have not stayed it. We have stayed the conversion through marriage only. That's what we have said in the order," Chief Justice Nath said while rejecting the state government's plea.
The new law, which penalises forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage, was notified by the BJP government on June 15.
Similar laws have been enacted by BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Last month, the Gujarat chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed a petition in the HC, claiming that some of the amended sections of Gujarat's new law were unconstitutional.
In a statement, Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Pradipsinh Jadeja, said the government will challenge this order in the Supreme Court.
"This law was brought with a noble intention to save Hindu girls who were trapped by some elements using fake Hindu identities and allurements. This law is not our political agenda.
"This is our commitment to create a system to eliminate the atrocities. The state government will never tolerate any attempt to trap girls through fraudulent means," said Jadeja.
He said though the HC has stayed the operation of sections 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, 6 and 6A till the pendency of the petition, they are still applicable if anyone is converted by way of marriage using force, allurement or fraudulent means.
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Man mowed down by speeding car in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): A man was allegedly mowed down by a speeding car on MG Road in the heart of the city on early Friday morning, police said.
Srinivas, who was in his late 50s, died on the spot in the accident that occurred at Anil Kumble Junction here, they said.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 4.30 am. Srinivas was walking along the side of the road when a car travelling at high speed allegedly hit him with immense force. The driver of the offending vehicle fled the spot.
The impact of the accident was so severe that Srinivas died on the spot, a senior police officer said.
A case of accident under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death due to negligence has been registered, he said.
CCTV cameras installed in the area are being analysed to identify the offending vehicle, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
