The Supreme Court on Friday came out strongly against the practice of conversion, while upholding the life sentence for Dara Singh, who was convicted for burning alive Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in January 1999.
"It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone's belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other," it said.
"In a country like ours where discrimination on the ground of caste or religion is a taboo, taking lives of persons belonging to another caste or religion is bound to have a dangerous and reactive effect on the society at large," the court said.
"Our concept of secularism is that the State will have no religion. The State shall treat all religions and religious groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their individual right of religion, faith and worship," the bench said.
