The law allows officials to demolish homes and seize property based on mere allegations of forcible conversion, and the petition argues it exceeds constitutional boundaries
NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court has put the Rajasthan government on notice, seeking a response to a petition challenging the state’s “anti-conversion” law. The law allows officials to demolish homes and seize property based on mere allegations of forcible conversion, and the petition argues it exceeds constitutional boundaries.
The Jaipur Catholic Welfare Society has filed the petition, arguing the law is unconstitutional and raises questions about the legislature’s authority to enact such legislation. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Monday directed the state to respond within four weeks, and the case will be considered alongside other pending challenges to anti-conversion legislation.
The petition is one of several challenging the law, with the Supreme Court already directing the state to respond to two other PILs. The Rajasthan government now has to provide its response, and the case will be heard in four weeks.
The Jaipur Catholic Welfare Society’s legal counsel, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, argued that the challenge raises questions about the legislature’s authority to enact such legislation.
As the court observed that similar constitutional challenges were already pending before it, Dhavan maintained that his client’s petition presented distinct legal arguments The bench agreed to formally notify the respondents and set the case for consideration in four weeks.
The petition has been linked with other pending challenges to anti-conversion legislation. Justices Nath and Mehta had already directed the state government to respond within four weeks to two PILs, one petition filed by advocate and researcher M Huzaifa Ahmadi and veteran human rights activist John Dayal, and another filed by Dashrath Kumar Hinunia.
Both petitions specifically contest the constitutionality of Sections 5(6), 10(3), 12, and 13 of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Act, 2025, which grants sweeping powers to executive authorities to forfeit and demolish private properties linked to conversion cases without judicial oversight.
The Act was passed by the Rajasthan state assembly on Sept. 9, received the governor’s assent on Oct. 3 and came into force on Oct. 29, just five days before the Supreme Court on November 3 issued notice on the two petitions challenging it.
Dayal was quoted by Morning Star News that the law represents executive overreach that bypasses judicial oversight. He warned that the provisions enable officials to demolish homes and seize property based solely on unproven allegations that disproportionately target religious minorities.
“Rajasthan has weaponised the law to legitimise what the Supreme Court called unconstitutional just last year,” Dayal said. “It’s licensed demolition. Bureaucrats now wield bulldozers as instruments of persecution. The court must choose: constitutional governance or administrative tyranny against minorities.”
The challenged provisions mark an unprecedented expansion of state power over religious freedom and property rights within the country’s federal system.
Senior Advocate Huzaifa Ahmadi described Rajasthan’s legislation as the most egregious among similar anti-conversion laws enacted by various states. He highlighted that fines for forcible mass conversion, defined in the Act as converting more than two people, are mind-boggling and can reach up to Rs 20 lakh, with punishment ranging from a minimum of 20 years to life imprisonment.
Broader Legal Battle
The Rajasthan challenge is part of a broader legal battle over anti-conversion laws across the country.
In September, another Supreme Court bench sought responses from several states on petitions seeking stays on their respective anti-conversion laws, including those enacted by Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter after the Rajasthan government files its response. The outcome could have significant implications for religious freedom and minority rights across India, as similar anti-conversion laws in other states face parallel constitutional challenges.
