Supreme Court to review law on love jihad in UP and Uttarakhand, refuses to stop immediately
The Supreme Court refused to stay the controversial provisions of the ‘Anti Love Jihad’ laws applicable in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to prevent conversion in the name of inter-religious marriage. However, the court has agreed to review the controversial laws. The Supreme Court will now examine the constitutionality of these laws, which is why the court has issued a notice to the state governments seeking an answer in this regard.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Justice V Ramasubramaniam and Justice AS Bopanna during the hearing of petitions by NGO ‘Citizens for Justice and Peace’ by Vishal Thackeray and others and social activist Teesta Setalvad. Issued notice to , However, the Court refused to stay the provisions of the relevant law which made it necessary to give prior permission of conversion to marriage.
Senior advocate Chander Udai Singh, appearing for Sitalwad, argued that the provisions of prior permission are repressive. He said that on the basis of the ordinance of Uttar Pradesh, the police arrested innocent people in the case of alleged love jihad. At the beginning of the hearing, Justice Bobde asked the petitioners to go to the concerned High Court, but after being told by Singh and lawyer Pradeep Kumar Yadav that this law has been implemented in two states and it is causing widespread problems in the society. . Lawyers argued that other states like Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are also considering enacting similar laws. The court then issued notices to both the state governments, agreeing to hear the case.
