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A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria said the petitions will be listed for hearing in December.
A lawyer appearing for one of the petitioners sought to list the interim petitions seeking stay on the laws next week.
The CJI, who is retiring on November 23, said, “It is not possible. I have to write the judgment.”
On September 16, the bench sought the stand of several states on petitions seeking stay on their respective anti-conversion laws.
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Issuing notice to the states, the CJI-led bench made it clear that it will consider the prayer for staying the operation of such laws after the reply is filed.
The bench then gave four weeks time to the states for their response and allowed the petitioners to file rejoinders two weeks thereafter. The case was posted after six weeks.
The bench is hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of anti-conversion laws enacted by several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
The Center had earlier questioned the jurisdiction of activist Teesta Setalvad’s NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace in challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages.
Alleging that the NGO allows its name to be used “at the behest of some selected political interests”, the Bharat Sangh claimed that it was guilty of amassing huge wealth by taking advantage of the suffering of the riot-affected people.
The apex court on January 6, 2021, agreed to examine some new and controversial laws of states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions due to inter-religious marriages.
The Uttar Pradesh law deals not only with interfaith marriages but with all religious conversions and sets out detailed procedures for anyone who wishes to convert to another religion.
The Uttarakhand law provides for a jail term of two years for those found guilty of religious conversion through “force or inducement”. The inducement may be in the form of cash, employment or material benefits.
The petition filed by the NGO alleged that these laws violate Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution as they empower the state to suppress a person’s personal liberty and freedom to practice the religion of his choice.