Fundamental right to propagate religion under Article 25 does not include right to convert: Central government to Supreme Court

The fundamental right to practice and propagate any religion under the Constitution does not include any fundamental right to convert people, the Central government told the Supreme Court. .The word 'propagate' used in Article 25 of the Constitution does not include within its ambit the right to convert, an affidavit filed by the government on Monday said."It is submitted that the right to freedom of religion does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion. The said right certainly does not include the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means," the affidavit said.The affidavit was filed in response to a plea by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking stringent steps to tackle forceful religious conversions. The plea claimed that fraudulent and deceitful religious conversion is rampant across the country, and that the Central government has failed to control its menace.The affidavit by the government said that the decision in Reverend Stainislaus makes clear that forced conversions impinge on a citizen's right to freedom of conscience. The government has a right to regulate the same since it was also held that such conversions affect public order..Forceful conversions amount to organised, illegal, and large-scale menace, and nine States have already passed laws for tackling the same, it was pointed out. The Central government will, thus, take up the reliefs sought in the plea with all seriousness since it is cognisant of the menace, the affidavit stated..During the hearing today, Senior Counsel Sanjay Hegde appeared for a party seeking to intervene in the case. Hedge said he objected to the petition and its maintainability since similar pleas have been withdrawn by the same petitioner in the past."So you are for forced conversions. How does it matter which Court is hearing it?" Justice Shah demanded.Upadhyay then alleged that Hedge was a convert himself, and was supporting foreign powers by objecting to his plea.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the such conversions are a menace, and filing of interlocutory applications was only a recipe to delay the hearing.The bench directed the Union government to file an additional affidavit after getting instructions from States on the issue..During an earlier hearing in the case, the top court had observed that forceful religious conversion is a very serious issue that threatens the security of the country and citizens' freedom of conscience.