PROVISIONS OF THE GUJARAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2021 WHEN AN INTERFAITH MARRIAGE TAKES PLACE WITH FORCE, FRAUD OR ALLUREMENT - GUJARAT HC

The Gujarat High Court bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav passed an interim order stating, "provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 will only apply when the interfaith marriage takes place with force, fraud or allurement. The provisions will not be applied merely because marriage is interfaith."

After the pronouncement of the order, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi asked the bench to clarify that the provisions will apply if there is a forceful conversion of religion. To which Chief Justice Nath replied that 'this is what the court said". There should be force or allurement in an interfaith marriage. Without this, the law would not apply.

The Gujarat HC bench was hearing a petition by MrMuhammed M Hakim challenging the provision of the Act, which prohibits forcible religious conversion by marriage.

The Petitioner submitted that the provisions of the Act are violative of Article 25 of the constitution. The language of the Act is vague and encroaches upon the right to privacy, essentially to an individual marriage. Act 2003 only prohibits forcible conversion by threat or fraudulent representation. However, the recent amendment used the vague language of "allurement of divine blessing".

Author: Papiha Ghoshal