The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the validity of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2025, potentially impacting religious freedom and state legislation.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and 12 states on a PIL challenging the validity of their anti-conversion laws. The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) filed the PIL, seeking a stay on the operation of these laws.
The Maharashtra government plans to introduce a stringent anti-conversion law in the winter session of the legislature, with provisions stricter than those in other states.
The Supreme Court has declined to urgently hear pleas seeking a stay on anti-conversion laws enacted by several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. The matter is now scheduled for hearing in December.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday promised to enact an-anti conversion law with stringent provisions in Maharashtra, and also assured a skill census for training as per industry needs as well as free ration to low-income families.
He said in states where the BJP was in power, the law will be enforced subsequently and in states where it had to depend on the support of its allies, the party would try and convince them that the law was acceptable to the Supreme Court.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma announced plans for a new anti-conversion law following the arrest of two nuns from Kerala on charges related to religious conversion and human trafficking. The announcement comes amid political tensions and accusations of wrongful arrest.
The government will introduce a bill in this regard in the upcoming legislature session, which starts on July 3.
Passed by a voice vote, the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022, also bans "mass conversion" - described as two or more people converting at the same time - through force or allurement .
This Ordinance was replaced by an Act later. However, the AIADMK government decided to repeal the law and an Ordinance for this was promulgated on May 18, 2004.
Advocate R Rajamani's PIL sought a stay on the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act 2002, as it was 'unjust and unconstitutional'.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the orders and legislations enforced under the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime like school textbook revision and anti-conversion laws, which are against the state's interest, would be revised or withdrawn by the new Congress government after reviewing them.
Justice Renu Agarwal made the observation while rejecting a Hindu-Muslim couple's plea for police protection.
The Maharashtra assembly has passed the Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, introducing strict measures to prevent religious conversions through coercion, fraud, or marriage, sparking debate over constitutional rights and religious freedom.
Facing accusations of pursuing communal agenda against the backdrop of conversion in Agra, government has asserted in Lok Sabha that it was committed to maintain communal harmony and suggested that all states as well as the Centre should have anti-conversion laws.
Based on a complaint from Tikaram, a resident of Sharif Nagar village in Devarniya, the case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-conversion law.
Three years ago, the accused started exerting pressure on her to undergo religious conversion and perform 'nikaah' (marriage). But when the woman opposed, he threatened to kidnap her, Tikaram alleged.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said his party would bring an anti-conversion law if it comes to power at the Centre.
The Gujarat high court on Thursday turned down the state government's plea seeking rectification of its recent order in which it stayed the operation of section 5 of the new anti-conversion law.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday took note of religious conversions, saying that an anti-conversion law should be made to stop such acts.
BJP MP Yogi Adityanath shares his views on conversions, re-conversions and the proposed anti-conversion law with Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan.
A 22-year-old man was arrested in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly kidnapping a young woman and attempting to forcibly convert her religion. The arrest followed a complaint by the woman's mother, leading to charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
An additional chief judicial magistrate sent the accused to nine days of police remand on Monday.
Two individuals have been arrested in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly carrying out unlawful religious conversions, sparking an investigation and legal proceedings.
The Maharashtra government has introduced the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, which aims to prohibit religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, or marriage, with stringent penalties for violations.
India has rejected a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that criticised India's record on religious freedom and called for linking US security assistance and trade to improvements in this area.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the central government of providing 'VIP treatment' to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, criticising perceived double standards in dealing with crime.
A US federal government commission has raised concerns about the state of religious freedom in India, recommending its designation as a 'Country of Particular Concern' and suggesting targeted sanctions.
The Gujarat high court on Thursday put a stay on the operation of some sections related to interfaith marriages of the state's new anti-conversion law.
A court in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Monday fixed May 2 for giving its verdict on the anticipatory bail plea filed by TCS employee Nida Khan, an accused in a case related to alleged sexual harassment and forcible religious conversion at the IT firm's local unit.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the central government of providing special treatment to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case. Mann's criticism comes after Union Minister Amit Shah spoke about gang activities in Punjab.
The Uttarakhand assembly on Wednesday passed a stricter anti-conversion Bill making unlawful conversion a cognisable and non-bailable offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of at least three to a maximum of 10 years.
Alleging that the NGO allows its name to be used "at the behest of some selected political interest", the Union of India told the top court that it is guilty of collecting huge funds by exploiting the agonies of riot-affected people.
There has been an increase in violence against Christians over the past 12 years -- from 147 cases in 2014 to 706 in 2025 (till November).
Gujarat police have registered the first FIR in the state under the newly-notified law against forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage, and arrested a 26-year-old man in Vadodara city, a senior official said on Friday.
They alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance was being used to "victimise especially those Indian men who are Muslim and women who dare to exercise their freedom of choice".
The Chhattisgarh government has introduced a bill aimed at preventing religious conversions through force, inducement, or misrepresentation, sparking opposition and debate in the state assembly.
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The case involving an inter-faith couple was filed in Vadodara under the amended Gujarat Religious Freedom Act and the interim relief granted by the court to the four, including the main accused, will be pending the disposal of a petition filed by them seeking quashing of the FIR against them.
The court issued the interim direction on a bunch of seven petitions challenging the provisions of Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.
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