There is nothing unlawful about missionaries spreading Christianity until they make use of illegal means to take action, the Tamil Nadu authorities has advised the Supreme Court, stressing that the Constitution of India provides individuals a proper to “spread their religion peacefully” and “change their beliefs”.

Maintaining that “anti-conversion laws are prone to misuse against minorities”, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led authorities submitted within the high courtroom that residents of the nation must be allowed freely to decide on their faith and it could not be applicable for the federal government to place spokes to their private perception and privateness.

The Tamil Nadu authorities, in an affidavit filed lately, remained emphatic that no incident of forceful conversion has been reported within the southern state in final a few years, because it opposed the prayers made by PIL petitioner-advocate Ashwini Upadhyay to order a CBI probe into the alleged circumstances of forcible conversions and direct the regulation fee of India to organize a draft on anti-conversion regulation.

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“The Anti-conversion laws are prone to misuse against minorities and there is no data on convictions under the various anti-conversion laws of the states. It is most respectfully submitted that the citizens are at liberty to choose the religion they want to follow,” acknowledged the affidavit, criticising Upadhyay for making an attempt to focus on Christian missionaries by submitting what the state known as a “religiously motivated petition”.

“Article 25 of the Constitution of India guarantees every citizen the right to propagate his religion. Therefore, the acts of missionaries spreading Christianity by itself cannot be seen as something against law. But if their act of spreading their religion is against public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part III of the Constitution (relating to fundamental rights), it has to be viewed seriously. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, there has been no incidents of forceful conversion reported in the past many years,” it added.

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The state accepted the authorized proposition that the Constitution doesn’t give a elementary proper to any individual to show one other man into one’s personal faith. “But it gives a right to any person to propagate his religion. Likewise, the Constitution does not prevent any person from getting converted to the religion of his choice. The citizens of the country should be allowed freely to choose their religion and it would not be appropriate for the Government to put spokes to their personal belief and privacy,” learn the affidavit.

Citing Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution, the Tamil Nadu authorities stated that “every citizen has the opportunity to practice and spread his religion peacefully” and the appropriate to place confidence in a selected faith is an inviolable proper that the state is obligated to guard.

“But without intimidation, threatening, deception, luring through gifts and without using any superstitious methods, any person has the right to propagate and preach his belief system to other persons. The people also have a choice to change their beliefs,” acknowledged the affidavit, mentioning the duty of the state is to take care of a steadiness between the appropriate to propagate faith and public order.

About the anti-conversion legal guidelines, the MK Stalin-led authorities stated that in 2002, the state had additionally handed the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act however it was repealed in 2006 “due to popular opposition”. A regulation towards spiritual conversion by way of drive or allurement was enacted in 2002 by the then AIADMK authorities headed by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa and it was later repealed following stiff opposition.

In the affidavit, the state has additionally denied Upadhyay’s claims concerning suicide of minor lady Lavanya in Tamil Nadu after she was allegedly compelled to transform by the Christian establishment the place she was finding out.

“The Central Bureau of Investigation 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,” it stated.

The state sought dismissal of Upadhyay’s PIL, arguing the petitioner belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he has tried to transform the courtroom continuing right into a political struggle.