Last Updated on June 23, 2021 by Administrator
“How can you amend the entire petition? We can only allow you to amend the prayer clause. Otherwise withdraw or we are dismissing this,” CJ Sanjay Yadav said at the outset.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday requested the Petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance to withdraw their petitions as the Ordinance has been changed with an Act.
The bench consisted of Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Siddhartha Varma who requested the Petitioners to document afresh and said that amendment applications will not be accepted.
Advocate Devesh Saxena, argued that there has now no longer been any other alternate to their pleadings and only the word ‘Ordinance’ has been changed with the word ‘Act’ however the Bench displayed its inclination to push aside the pleas.
The Court has issued notice on a PIL filed via way of means of the Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives via Advocate Vrinda Grover, to challenge the Act of 2021.
The Court directed that pleadings of the case to be completed before the earlier date.
As the Act criminalizes conversion by marriage, the petitioners argued that it is violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution and infringes individual’s right to freedom of choice and freedom of religion.
The Petitioners have contended that the law is against the judgement pronounced in High Court Salamat Ansari Case by the Allahabad High Court.
The UP Government claimed but that the Ordinance affects all types of forceful conversions and isn’t limited to inter religion marriages.
The writ petitioners had also submitted that there was no urgency to exercise the ordinance under Article 213 of the Constitution.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain petitions towards the law, and had asked parties to reach out to the High Court.
By team SLC
