Ambika bhardwaj
Published On: January 31, 2022 at 15:37 IST
In the Death Case of M Lavanya in Tamil Nadu, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, an Advocate from Ghaziabad, has lodged a Plea in the Supreme Court to ‘regulate misleading religious conversion’.
The Alleged suicide of a 17-year-old girl from Thanjavur made headlines due to suspicions of deceitful religious conversion under coercion and undue influence.
Kumar’s Petition before the Supreme Court also requests that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should conduct an investigation into the Alleged suicide.
He further stated that the National Human Rights Commission or National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights should start investigating the ultimate cause of the death of 17-year-old Lavanya, who died by suicide January 19, 2022.
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of laws of the land whereas Article 21 guarantees protection of an individual’s life and personal liberty.
Article 25 bestows moral rights on a person in order to guarantee the freedom of conscience and to exercise and propagate any religion.
According to the Petition, the Missionary School tormented and pressured the girl to convert to Christianity.
The Petition stated the following-
“It is requested that the Centre should form a Judicial Commission or an Expert Committee to investigate the developed nations’ Anti-Conversion Laws and policies, as well as the finest regulations of the States’ Anti-Conversion Laws, and enact Laws to regulate forcible and misleading religious conversion. Also, the Indian Law Commission should be instructed to prepare a report on religious conversions in India within three months.”
The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench has commanded the individual who recorded the video of the 17-year-old girl Alleging forced conversion to appear for an inquiry and hand over the mobile phone.