Rajasthan HC issues guidelines to check forced conversions and inter-faith marriages, makes 30 days advance notice mandatory

Jaipur: Any person going for religious conversion on his own should inform the district collector 30 days in advance, the Jodhpur High Court ordered on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_4255827” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] Issuing fresh guidelines for matters relating to religious conversions, Justice GK Vyas warned that stringent action would be taken against those found forcing people to convert. “If any particular organisation is found guilty (of forcing) for caste conversion, its licence will be cancelled,” he observed. On 28 November, the amicus curiae appointed by the Rajasthan High Court to look into the legality of religious conversions in the state had advised the court to issue guidelines for conversions until a law was enacted by the government in this regard. The amicus curiae was appointed by the court following a habeas corpus petition filed by Chirag Singhvi, brother of Aarifa Modi alias Payal Singhvi, which challenged the conversion of his sister from Hinduism to Islam and then her marriage to a Muslim man. The division bench of justices GK Vyas and Virendra Kumar Mathur had adjourned the hearing for arguments by the government and other respondents.