Law to validate religious conversions

The Law Commission of India is mulling over introducing a new legislature for those intending to convert their faith.

To avoid controversies and complexities in religious conversion, the Law Commission said a law must be introduced to make some legal procedures mandatory for those wishing to convert.

The Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge P V Reddy, has invited public opinion on the subject.

Sister Mary Scaria, a Catholic lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court, says the initiative of the Law Commission for open debate on conversion may bring some hope to the people accused of and affected by it.

"It is important that we study and deliberate on the issue and respond to the Commission's initiative."

The move to open a debate on conversion was apparently triggered by the remarks of Kerala High Court last year when it highlighted the problems faced by those changing religion in proving their religious status in courts.

The High Court observed that the absence of legal proof in a person's religious conversion often caused court battles, especially in inter-religion marriages.

"Appropriate stipulations of law appear to be necessary on this aspect in respect of conversions to and from all religions," the High Court remarked.

The Law Commission however said it is not in favour of disturbing the existing state of law as laid down in a series of court-decisions as regards the essential elements of proof required to establish the plea of conversion or re-conversion.

The Law Commission feels it would be proper to implement the suggestion of the High Court to a limited extent by providing a convert an option to file a declaration before the concerned Registrar of Marriages with the prescribed particulars.

This could serve as a piece of evidence among others in resolving the issue, the Commission said.