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A Division bench led by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court issued notices on the PILs challenging Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 and the government was asked to file a counter affidavit before January 4th. On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh government has filed a counter-affidavit defending the ordinance against which PILs were filed challenging it. In the affidavit, the government said that the ordinance aims to prevent unlawful conversion by elements of undue influence, coercion, allurement, force, and misrepresentation, etc. It also said that nowhere in the ordinance has the term “Love Jihad” been used. It then clarified that the ordinance is not promulgated for “Love Jihad”.
The Government in its affidavit further stated that the recent decision by the division bench in High Court must be reconsidered as the questions regarding inter-fundamental rights and the scope of liberty of an individual was not dealt with in the Salamat Ansari Case. it was also stated that religious conversion for marriage cannot be considered as an exercise of choice when it is due to the compulsion of personal laws. Some illustrations as to what does, and does not constitute a forceful conversion was also submitted in the affidavit.
The maintainability of the PILs was also challenged referring to a Supreme Court Judgement Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee Vs. C.K. Rejan [2007 (7) SCC] which held that the vires of a legislation cannot be tested by a High Court in a Public Interest Litigation.
In addition, the Government depended on the recommendations made in the reports of the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group and took notice of forced conversions and the abuse of the freedom of religion by non-state actors, and stated how it is the responsibility of the State to protect the rights of such individuals who were being encroached by non-state factors.
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