Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): The Allahabad High Court has issued notice on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. A bench led by acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari on Monday tagged the plea with other pending petitions and listed it after three weeks.
Two public interest litigations were already filed against the conversion law. All the petitions, including the new one, are now expected to be heard in the next hearing. The plea was moved by one, Anand Malviya (petitioner) through advocate Shadan Farasat and Talha Abdul Rahman.
Malviya, a retired government servant who had served as the senior statistical officer at the National Sample Survey Office of the Government of India, contended that the law is against the secular character of the Constitution and infringes upon freedom of choice and freedom of religion.
He submitted that the law, essentially, seeks to negate the present constitutional position and coerce individuals belonging to different faiths to seek 'permission' from the State before marrying and, as a logical extension, having children together. The Act is a thinly disguised attempt at fanning the flames of communalism, and seeks to divide society into ethnic and religious lines, the plea said.
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