Queency Jain –
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed all the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance as withdrawn, stating the ordinance to be an Act.
Though Advocate Saxena argued that no material change had taken place in the ordinance except the word “Act”, the Court asked the petitioners to withdraw and file a fresh petition, in case they want any amendments.
The Court dismissed all the petitions as withdrawn, granted liberty to file a fresh petition and also granted time to file counter-affidavits to those petitions that were filed after the ordinance became an Act after it was informed that Advocate Vrinda Grover, on behalf of the Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives filed the petition after the ordinance was replaced with an Act.
The Act is challenged to be violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India thereby attacking an individual’s personal liberty and right to freedom of religion as it specifically criminalizes conversion for marriage.
Though the Uttar Pradesh Government contends the Act to be applicable on only forceful marriages and not on inter-faith marriages, the petitioners have argued that there was no urgent need to justify the bringing of this law by ordinance making power under Article 213 of the Constitution.
The High Court is entertaining all the petitions after the Supreme Court has earlier refused to entertain petitions and directed to approach the High Court first.