Allahabad HC seeks UP govt's reply on plea saying anti-conversion law is 'anti-Consti
Allahabad HC seeks UP govt's reply on plea saying anti-conversion law is 'anti-Constitutional'
M.U.H
14/09/2021376
The Allahabad High Court (HC) on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply in three weeks on a petition against the amended anti-conversion law. The petition describes the anti-conversion law as "anti-constitutional and unnecessary".
The PIL was was filed by social activist Anand Malviya. During the hearing of the petition, the division bench of the high court issued a notice to the UP government, seeking its reply in three weeks. The next hearing has been scheduled for October 5.
In the PIL, the anti-conversion law has been described as "anti-constitutional and unnecessary". The plea mentions that the law is against the basic spirit of the Constitution. It says the law could be "misused" politically.
Two public interest litigations were already filed against the conversion law. All the petitions, including today's, are now expected to be heard in the next hearing.
The UP government had already filed its reply in the court on teh first two public interest litigations.
On September 4, eight people arrested over alleged illegal religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh were charged with conspiring to wage war against the country.
Special judge Ram Gupta allowed a plea by the anti-terrorist squad, which had arrested the eight in June, seeking the addition of sections 121 A (conspiring to wage war against the country) and 123 (concealing the existence of a design to wage war against the government) in the FIR.
The accused were taken in judicial custody under sections 417 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) among other sections of the IPC, alongside those of Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021.