Editor's Pick: Charity must not be a cloak for conversion, says SC

The Supreme Court on Monday held that act of charity or good work done to help a community or the poor should not cloak an intention to convert them religiously as payback. The bench, led by Justice M.R. Shah, stated that conversion on the basis of a voluntary belief in the deity of a different faith was different from the belief gained through allurement. The apex court posted the final hearing on the “very serious issue” of forcible or deceitful conversions in the country for December 12. “Everybody has a right to choose their faith but that does not mean luring somebody by giving something. If you believe that a particular community needs help, you help it. It is charity. But the purpose of charity should not be conversion. Every charity or good work is welcome, but what requires to be considered is the intention...Charity, help, everything is welcome, but within the framework,” Justice Shah stated. Associate Judge of the Bench, Justice C.T. Ravikumar said that “this is required for the harmony of India.” Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde argued that people could choose to renounce their faith for various reasons, to which Justice Shah stated that belief is a different thing...belief by allurement, “that is very dangerous”. At this point, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said it was therefore that a “statutory mechanism” was in place. “A neutral authority will decide whether it is in lieu of grains, medicines, treatment offered that a person is converting or whether there is a religious or philosophical change of heart,” he argued. Separately, senior advocates C.U. Singh and Raju Ramachandran representing rationalist and secular organisation Kerala Yukthivaad Sangham and a priest, respectively, argued against the maintainability of the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. They stated the same petition was withdrawn without liberty thrice previously. The court rejected the objections, reminding they were at the final stage of hearing. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials Faith and freedom: On combating forcible religious conversion A case for change: On months-long protests in Iran The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which city is set to host the 85th Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress in the second half of February 2023? Jaipur Raipur Nagpur Cuttack To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 06 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID Charity must not be a cloak for conversion: SC The Supreme Court [on Monday held]( act of charity or good work done to help a community or the poor should not cloak an intention to convert them religiously as payback. The bench, led by Justice M.R. Shah, stated that conversion on the basis of a voluntary belief in the deity of a different faith was different from the belief gained through allurement. The apex court posted the final hearing on the “very serious issue” of forcible or deceitful conversions in the country for December 12. “Everybody has a right to choose their faith but that does not mean luring somebody by giving something. If you believe that a particular community needs help, you help it. It is charity. But the purpose of charity should not be conversion. Every charity or good work is welcome, but what requires to be considered is the intention...Charity, help, everything is welcome, but within the framework,” Justice Shah stated. Associate Judge of the Bench, Justice C.T. Ravikumar said that “this is required for the harmony of India.” Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde argued that people could choose to renounce their faith for various reasons, to which Justice Shah stated that belief is a different thing...belief by allurement, “that is very dangerous”. At this point, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said it was therefore that a “statutory mechanism” was in place. “A neutral authority will decide whether it is in lieu of grains, medicines, treatment offered that a person is converting or whether there is a religious or philosophical change of heart,” he argued. Separately, senior advocates C.U. Singh and Raju Ramachandran representing rationalist and secular organisation Kerala Yukthivaad Sangham and a priest, respectively, argued against the maintainability of the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. They stated the same petition was withdrawn without liberty thrice previously. The court rejected the objections, reminding they were at the final stage of hearing. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Faith and freedom: On combating forcible religious conversion]( [Arrow][A case for change: On months-long protests in Iran]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which city is set to host the 85th Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress in the second half of February 2023? - Jaipur - Raipur - Nagpur - Cuttack To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click]( [here](. 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