NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court it is contemplating measures to curb the "menace" of conversion through "force, fraud, allurement and deception", while arguing that the "right to freedom of religion does not confer a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion".
The government said the word "propagate" in Article 25 of the Constitution was debated in great detail in the Constituent Assembly and the inclusion of the word was preceded by a clarification that the fundamental right under Article 25 would not include the right to convert.
Article 25(1) of the Constitution provided that "subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part (fundamental rights chapter), all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion".
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta termed forced conversions a "menace" and said, "The reliefs sought in the PIL will be taken up in all seriousness by the Union government and appropriate steps shall be taken as the central government is cognisant of the menace".
The current and 50th Chief Justice is Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, who entered office on 9 November 2022.
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