The Gujarat government told the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday that marriage per se was not prohibited but it could not be used as a tool or instrument for effecting forceful conversion.
The Gujarat High Court was hearing two petitions challenging the recent amendments to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.
A bench led by Chief Justice Vikram Nath in response to the submission by
Advocate General Kamal Trivedi said that the law kept a sword hanging on interfaith couples and that it can’t be read from the Act that interfaith marriage is permissible.
Section 3 of the 2003 Act was amended this year to redefine the prohibition of forcible conversion as no person shall convert or attempt to convert any person from one religion to another by use of force or by allurement or by marriage nor shall any person abet such conversion.
The bench implored Trivedi that if he wanted to make a statement on how the provision must be read, they will record the same. ‘But say that this (section 3) has to be read like this To this Trivedi responded stating that he would take instructions and provide the same in writing.
AG told the court that the law came into effect in June and since then there have been three complaints. Chief Justice Nath responded saying that they cannot read that from the act (that interfaith marriage is permissible) then why should they wait for even a single incident to happen. The bench has kept the matter for orders for August 19.
