Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur criticized the recent Ordinance brought by the Uttar Pradesh Government to criminalize religious conversions by marriage.The judge described the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020, promulgated last week, as "placing on the backseat the freedom of choice and dignity". "States of Madhya Pradesh,...

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UP Ordinance Against Religious Conversions By Marriage Puts Freedom Of Choice & Dignity On Backseat : Justice Madan Lokur

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Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur criticized the recent Ordinance brought by the Uttar Pradesh Government to criminalize religious conversions by marriage.
The judge described the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020, promulgated last week, as "placing on the backseat the freedom of choice and dignity".
"States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Assam are planning to come up with similar ordinances. The purpose of this law is to prohibit what is popularly known as love jihad", he said.
"Although 'love jihad' has no definition, one chief minister has defined it as 'Jihadis playing with the honour and dignity of our sisters and daughters by hiding their real names and identities'. Another chief minister went to the extent of saying that 'if these Jihadis don't mend their ways, it is the beginning of the journey to their graves'. Is this possible death sentence already pronounced sanctioned under the Constitution or by the law? This seems to be a resurgence of the trend of mob lynching...What about the freedom of choice? Why not declare a war on child marriage, which by definition is a forced marriage?", wondered Justice Lokur. "Our carefully-crafted dignity jurisprudence which has been assiduously developed by the Supreme Court over years is being given a cremation of the Hathras kind", he said
Justice Lokur, now a judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji, called 'Spade a Spade" at the Seventh Sunil Memorial Lecture held on November 29, addressing the virtual audience on the topic: "Judiciary and Social Justice, Dignity and Personal Liberty- Human Rights and Fright".
UP Ordinance Criminalizing Religious Conversion By Marriage Is An Assault On Personal Liberty
Stating that the judiciary in India has travelled a long distance so far as personal liberty is concerned, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Madan B. Lokur, observed that the courts now seem to be going in reverse.