Editor's Pick: Legality of U.P.'s anti-conversion law

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Monday 07, December 2020 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick U.P.'s anti-conversion law in a legal grey area [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) A [Muslim groom and his brother have been arrested]( in Uttar Pradesh under provisions of the State's [new anti-conversion law](. The groom and his Hindu bride were about to register their marriage in Kanth. The woman said that she was 22 and she had gotten married on July 24 willingly. A right-wing outfit was involved in handing the two men to the police. This is the fifth [case to be registered under the new law]( after it was [promulgated as an Ordinance]( on November 29. The police had so far used this law based on complaints from parents or relatives of women. This is the first reported instance in which a right-wing outfit has gotten publicly involved in the issue. While the law is against forceful conversion, it includes "alluring into marriage" as a ground for declaring a religious conversion as illegal. This is a hat-tip to the "love jihad" theory spread by many right-wing outfits. The law flies in the face of several judgements of the Supreme Court that protect the choices of marriage, including the recent Hadiya case. [The Hindu's editorial on the issue]( had reiterated this point, saying: "After the Court’s 'right to privacy' judgment, and the Shafin Jahan-Hadiya case (2018), it would be no more constitutional to use 'marriage' as a ground for prohibiting conversion, as it involves the rights of privacy, choice and marital freedom." In the [Hadiya case](, the court had frowned upon "roving inquiries" into the question of consent in a marriage between two adults. In the verdict in this case, the court had placed matters of faith, ideology, love and partnership firmly in the sphere of an individual's identity, over which the State or the law has no say. While the enshrining of an Islamophobic theory as a penal provision has already caused alarm, its increasingly frequent use, including in ways that are violative of individual freedoms, is even more alarming. This is what makes the story important. The Big Story [Dilli Chalo | Support widens for Bharat Bandh call]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Muslim groom, brother arrested in U.P. under anti-conversion law]( [alt_text]( [About 130 Covaxin trial volunteers may test positive: Bharat Biotech]( From the Opinion Pages [alt_text]( [There is nothing new about Trumpism]( [alt_text]( [The BJP’s big ticket to Telangana]( Today's Editorials [Culture and peace: On India’s st]( [Tenuous tack: On RBI holding int]( You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b437z0mbf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkb6@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2020 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](