SC dismisses PIL seeking directions to control fraudulent religious conversions

New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a PIL seeking direction to Centre and all states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversions accomplished by intimidation, threats, deception or luring through gifts and monetary benefits.

"What kind of PIL is this? PIL has become a tool and everyone is coming up with petitions like these," said a bench comprising of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, while dismissing the plea filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.

The petition, filed through advocate Bharti Tyagi, also sought a direction to the Law Commission to prepare a report as well as a bill to control "Deceitful Religious Conversion".

Claiming that "there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by 'hook and crook and the carrot and the stick'," the petition alleged that the Centre has failed to take stringent steps to stop religious conversion when "incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts or monetary benefits and also using black magic, superstition, miracles".

The petitioner sought introduction of the anti-conversion law in India because "conversion is a kind of cultural terrorism which will prey upon indigenous people and their culture".

The Supreme Court is already examining a batch of petitions which challenges controversial state laws regulating religious conversions.