HC rejects Gujarat's 'meant to fight Jihadis' argument on Anti-Conversion law

Ahmadabad: Despite the Gujarat High Court order squashing Section 5 of the amended anti-conversion law and rejecting a state government plea that sought review of its order, the Gujarat government seemed adamant in taking the matter to the Supreme Court terming Section 5 the 'core' of the Law to fight jihadist elements.

Pradipsinh Jadeja, state home and law minister said that his government has decided to challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court, calling the 'anti-love jihad law' a weapon to fight jihadis who abuse the Hindu girls.

"We are moving ahead with firm determination to protect women of all religions, including Hindus. With firm willpower, we have raised the weapon of law on love jihad to fight jihadi elements abusing girls. The Gujarat government has brought the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act with the noble intention of checking fraudulent marriages and betrayal of women done by assuming fake Hindu identity, symbols and allurements," a statement by the Minister said.

According to the Law, the religious priests who oversee a conversion should take prior permission from the district magistrate to convert any person and the person who wishes to convert or gets converted should send an intimation to the district magistrate in a prescribed form.

Jadeja lamented the 'political agenda' is being alleged over the anti-conversion law by some opponents, who wrongly interpreted the law, which is in fact "a conscientious attempt by the state government to create a system to protect girls."

Staying the Section 5 of the law, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav on August 19, observed that the Section "shall not operate merely because a marriage is solemnised by a person of one religion with a person of another religion without force or by allurement or by fraudulent means and such marriages cannot be termed as marriages for the purposes of unlawful conversion."

The Bench said that was his interpretation, and the court had stayed all sections related to obtaining prior permission for conversions.