India
oi-Deepika S
New Delhi, February 17: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed an NGO to make Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh part of a pending petition challenging controversial state laws regulating conversions due to interreligious marriages.
A bank headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde also allowed the Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind to become part of the petition on the grounds that large numbers of Muslims are being harassed under these laws throughout the country.
On January 6, the high court agreed to examine controversial new laws in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions due to inter-religious marriages.
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However, the court, also composed of judges AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, refused to suspend the controversial provisions of the laws and issued notices to state governments on two different petitions.
The allegations, brought by advocate Vishal Thakre and others and a ‘Citizen for Justice and Peace’ NGO, have challenged the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Illegal Religious Conversion Ban Ordinance of 2020 and the Freedom of Religion Act. Uttarakhand of 2018 regulating religion. conversions of interreligious marriages.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.