The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Rajasthan government to reply to a petition questioning the constitutional validity of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2025.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on a plea moved by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and others. Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh appeared for the petitioners.
The court also tagged the case with other pending matters involving challenges to anti-conversion laws in various states. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that similar petitions are already before the apex court and requested that this plea be heard along with them.
The petition seeks a declaration that key provisions of the Act are arbitrary, unreasonable, illegal, ultra vires, and violative of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The challenge forms part of a growing set of petitions questioning anti-conversion laws enacted across several states, often referred to as “anti-conversion” or “freedom of religion” legislations.
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has sought Rajasthan’s stand.
- On November 17, the Court issued notice in a separate challenge to the same Act.
- Earlier, on November 3, the Court agreed to hear two other petitions attacking specific provisions of the law.
The broader issue is already before another bench, which in September sought responses from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka, all of which have enacted similar laws.
The Court has previously indicated that it will consider requests to stay the operation of such statutes only after receiving replies from the concerned states.
