Chaini Parwani –
Published On: October 26, 2021 at 15:20 IST
The Yogi Adityanath Government sternly Defended the Anti-Conversion Law in its Testimony filed before the Allahabad High Court, stating that “Since marriage is being used as an instrument to convert an individual’s religion against his/her will, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 seeks to remedy the malady”.
The Affidavit of the State Government was submitted in response to the group of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) arguing the stated Act on a command of the High Court.
The Affidavit noted “When there is fear psychosis in the community at large and the community itself is endangered and succumbs to the pressure resulting in forceful conversion, it becomes necessary that the interest of the community as a whole requires protection and no microanalysis of individual interest can be looked into.”
The Affidavit Contended that the law is identical in nature to Legislations that already exist in at least in eight states of the Country.
Further the Affidavit stated that there is sufficient data in public record which reveals that involuntary conversions have created a fear across the entire State, which in turn has justified the need for such a Legislation.
Pertaining to the Cases of a Hindu woman or a man wishing to marry a Muslim man or woman, the Affidavit stated that “Even though a Hindu woman wishes not to give up her faith, she will have to give up her faith in order to enter into a valid marriage and accept Islam as her faith. This will amount to forceful conversion. The position remains the same if a Hindu boy wants to marry a Muslim girl. Hindu boy will have to accept Islam.”
Further the Affidavit argued that the conversion in such Cases is not implemented as a choice but on account of obligation due to Personal Law intervening.
Furthermore, the Affidavit highlighted that the Act authorizes the relatives power to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) in Cases of forceful Conversion and that the Act further ensures that every individual is Granted an equal moral membership in the society.
The Government stated that the Petitioners are motivated by Social Media propagandas of ‘Ghar wapsi’ and have not focused on the Legal Issues. Therefore, they are misusing the process of Law by filing the instant PIL and using the same as a tool for publicity.