As the Maharashtra Cabinet clears the Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, a look at the structural similarities in anti-conversion laws across states: from definition to procedure to punishment. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Cabinet cleared the Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 2026, a Bill proposing rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh for […]

HC issues notice on plea alleging fraudulent conversions in Punjab through ‘magical healing’ The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday issued notice of motion to the Centre and state of Punjab on a petition alleging that religious conversions were being carried out through foreign funding by enticement, coercion, fraud and undue influence under the […]

In a significant procedural showdown over caste verification, the Bombay High Court stepped in to examine whether a District Caste Certificate Verification Committee could invalidate a Scheduled Caste claim solely on the basis of suspected religious conversion, without concrete proof. The case revolved around a petitioner whose claim to the ‘Mang’ Scheduled Caste was rejected […]

The Bihar assembly on Friday witnessed noisy scenes over the demand by the ruling party MLAs to bring a strict anti-conversion law in the state on the lines of other states to prohibit forced religious conversions and forced inter-faith marriages. Following this, Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar gave a ruling that the state government would review […]

First draft of proposed law sent for legal feedback. The development comes days after Gujarat, another BJP-ruled state, tabled amendments to its marriage registration law making parental consent mandatory. The Maharashtra government is learnt to have prepared the first draft of a proposed anti-conversion law aimed at addressing cases of alleged forced religious conversions, an […]

The Supreme Court has observed that it is constitutionally impermissible for anyone, including State and non-State actors, to vilify or denigrate any community through speeches, memes, cartoons or visual art. The Court stressed that public figures holding high constitutional offices, such as ministers, must not target any community on the basis of religion, caste, language […]

A man refused to accept his elderly mother back into his home because she is a Christian, bringing a heartbreaking family reunion to a painful halt after more than 20 years. Sushila Murmu, now in her seventies, had been missing from her village in Jharkhand’s Godda district for over two decades. She was recently traced […]

Allahabad HC orders police protection for 12 interfaith live-in couples, asks respondents to refrain from interfering with their privacy; State had argued the relationships were unlawful Stating that no one among the 12 interfaith live-in partners have converted from his/her religion and hence don’t attract penalty under the anti-conversion law, the Allahabad High Court on […]

KOCHI: In an attempt to appease the Christian community in Kerala ahead of the assembly polls, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju has assured Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil that the Centre will consider the request to accord the community micro-minority status. The minister who visited Thattil at St Thomas Mount, the church […]

Last year, the Supreme Court had delivered a split verdict on a plea seeking permission to bury a deceased Christian pastor in Chhattisgarh in the village graveyard or on his agricultural land. The Supreme Court issued the stay while hearing a PIL regarding tribal Christians being denied burial rights in their villages. (Source: File) The […]

The Central Bureau of Investigation has submitted before the Supreme Court the chargesheet filed by it in the case relating to the suicide of a school girl at a Christian missionary-run school in Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu in 2022. The death of the girl had hit the headlines nationwide following allegations that she resorted […]

The petitioners contended before the Chhattisgarh High Court that the hoardings were installed by respective gram sabhas exercising powers under the PESA framework. The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging the Chhattisgarh High Court order, which asked petitioners challenging hoardings put up by some gram sabhas barring the entry of Christian “pastors and […]