New Delhi, June 23: Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee has critised certain provisions of the anti-conversion laws enacted recently by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as being against one's right to privacy but agreed with the intent of the legislations saying conversion by force or fraud should not be permitted. "These state laws have the effect of deterring genuine conversions and impair the substance of religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution", Sorabjee told a news agency, before his departure to London. "One's religious belief is essentially a private matter as is conversion from one religion to another. It is result of the deep seated inner convictions", the Attorney General said.

Maintaining that conversion brought about by force, fraud or deceit could not be regarded as true and genuine, he said such conversions should not be permitted.

Without going into the constitutionality of the anti-conversion laws, Sorabjee said these laws tend to shake the confidence of the minority communities and accentuate their sense of insecurity. "These are unwise measures in the present Indian context", he added.
Sorabjee was particularly critical of the provision that required the person who wanted to convert a person from one religion to another to intimate the district magistrate about the proposed conversion in the prescribed form.
Bureau Report