NEW DELHI: Missionaries spreading Christianity is not illegal unless they employ unlawful means to do so, the Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court.
Laying emphasis on the fact that no incidents of forceful conversion or conversion on the grounds of false promises, or threats have been reported in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has said that the Constitution of India does not give a fundamental right to any person to turn another man into one's own religion but allows its citizens to propagate their religion, spread its religion peacefully and change beliefs.
Maintaining a stance that “anti-conversion laws are prone to be misused against minorities,” the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in an affidavit has said that citizens of the country should be allowed to choose their religion and it would be inappropriate for the government to put spokes to their personal beliefs and privacy.
“The acts of missionaries spreading Christianity by itself cannot be seen as something against the law. But if their act of spreading their religion is against public order, morality and health and the other provisions of Part Ill of the Constitution it has to be viewed seriously. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, there have been no incidents of forceful conversion reported in the past many years,” the affidavit states.
Article 25 protects the rights of people to enjoy the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. "The state shall have the responsibility to take measures against persons who deliberately and maliciously intend to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting their religion or religious beliefs,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit has been filed in response to the plea by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking to declare fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threat, deception and luring through gifts and monetary benefits violative of the fundamental rights of the Constitution. Upadhyay in the plea had also sought for directing the Centre and states to take stringent steps to contour fraudulent religious conversion.
The state in the affidavit has also denied Upadhyay’s claim regarding the suicide of minor girl Lavanya in Tamil Nadu after she was allegedly forced to covert by the Christian institution where she was studying. “The CBI is still investigating the cause of death of Lavanya and as per the investigation done by the state police, there is no concrete proof or clinching evidence to say that she committed suicide because of compulsion to convert to Christianity,” the affidavit states.
Terming the plea as "politically motivated", the state government urging the court to dismiss the plea has said that the petitioner has abused particular religions and has sought orders in tune with their policies.