Justice Govind Mathur: The principles of democracy can’t be scarified at altar of majoritarianism
A protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, in December 2019. | Reuters Just yesterday, my daughter asked me if “democracy” alone might not have sufficed in the topic of today’s speech. Was it necessary to include “constitutional”? I thought that was a significant question. We need to understand why we must stress on the Constitution, and why our democracy rests on the Constitution. Some days ago, in January this year, the Vice President of India [Jagdeep Dhankar] stated during a meeting attended by presiding officers of state legislatures that the judiciary was intruding into the territory of the legislature. He commented on the verdict of a case that was adjudicated by the Supreme Court 48 years ago, that settled in law that the basic structure of the Constitution could not be changed. He mentioned that if the elected representatives of the people of India in Parliament wished to change the Constitution, then that ruling of 1973, the Kesavananda Bharati case could not be cited to deny them that right. He contended that such opposition to changing the Constitution was against the principle of democracy. The judiciary, in the opinion of the Vice President, was extending its reach by ruling thus. According to the
Indian Christians get bail four months after sectarian flare-up
Indian Christians get bail four months after sectarian flare-up Protestant church leaders were arrested in January after clashes with traditional animist believers in Chhattisgarh A top court in central India has granted bail to 10 Protestant Church leaders, who were arrested in January following sectarian violence between tribal Christians and traditional animist believers. The Bilaspur High Court, the top court in Chhattisgarh state, on April 19 granted bail to the Christian leaders, including pastors and evangelists, and asked them to cooperate with the police investigations. Lawyer Son Singh, who represented the Christian leaders, on April 20 said, “They will be out in a day or two after complying with the conditions of their bail.” The lawyer said his clients “were framed in a false case in which they had practically no role” and “their innocence will be proved" in the court. The Christian leaders were charged with rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, voluntarily causing hurt to public servants on duty, and criminal intimidation and assault. If convicted of all the charges, each of them faces punishments of up to 10 years in jail and fines. The Christian leaders were arrested in the first week of January amid violent clashes in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh between people
Appeal for peace after three Indian churches razed
Two Protestant and a Catholic churches were brought to the ground as they were built on unauthorized plots Christian leaders in India's northeastern Manipur state have appealed for peace after government agencies demolished three churches, saying they were built on unauthorized land. The state government, run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, initiated the demolition of churches claiming that they were built on government land in a tribal colony in the capital Imphal. Government agencies demolished the churches on April 11 early morning, probably to avoid people's resistance and violence, said Father Francis Vialo, financial administrator of Imphal Archdiocese. The demolished churches belong to Catholic, Baptist and Lutheran Churches, Vialo told UCA News on April 12. The catholic priest said his diocese bought the land of the demolished Holy Spirit Church some 20 years ago from a person. The case has been going on for more than four years now. In 2020, “when we challenged the government order in court, our case could not stand" because the seller had fraudulently created documents to sell the land to us, the priest said. However, the court stayed the government order and allowed the status quo till March 2023. The Manipur High Court vacated its 2020 order
Indian pastor, wife freed after 30 days behind bars
Court says police cannot prove the couple were converting people to Christianity A Protestant couple accused of religious conversion in a northern Indian state has been released from jail after spending 30 days behind bars. “Pastor John and his wife were granted bail and were released on March 27 after a district court observed that allegations of religious conversion against them could not be proved,” their lawyer, who did not want to be named, told UCA News on March 29. Pastor Santosh John and his wife, Jiji John, were arrested on Feb. 26 following complaints of religious conversion by Bajrang Dal, a group of Hindu hardliners, in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state which is ruled by the pro-Hindu party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The lawyer said that “the hardline Hindu group could not give any solid evidence” against the couple who were picked up while conducting Sunday prayers in the state's Ghaziabad district. “The allegation that the pastor and his wife distributed some T-shirts, pamphlets and conducted prayer services at their rented house does not prove that they have been forcing people to change religion,” the court observed while releasing the couple. Minakshi Singh, a Christian activist who helped the couple secure bail, said it
Indian Christian educators denied bail in conversion case
The Lal brothers are accused of funding mass conversion activity in northern Uttar Pradesh A photograph of an event underway at the Evangelical Church of India Church in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh's Harihar Ganj district A top court in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh has denied anticipatory bail to two top Christian educators accused of mass conversion. Rajendra Bihari Lal, the vice chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, and his brother, Vinod Bihari Lal, who serves as the director at the university, had moved an application in the Allahabad High Court seeking anticipatory bail when police summoned them for interrogation earlier this month. Justice Manju Rani Chauhan of the Allahabad High Court on Feb. 28 noted that there was material evidence against the duo and hence their application “stands rejected.” Police have been investigating a complaint of mass conversion reported at Harihar Ganj in the state’s Fatehpur district on April 14, 2022, which happened to be the Maundy Thursday. The judge while elaborating on the grounds for rejecting their bail application said the intent behind the charitable works undertaken by the Lal brothers appears to be dubious, affecting the lives of marginal sections of society as reported in the alleged case
India’s draconian anti-conversion laws face new challenge
‘Love Jihad’ myth causes violence, intimidation of minorities by police and non-state actors, Supreme Court told India’s draconian anti-conversion laws face new challenge India’s top court is likely to examine the constitutionality of nine of 11 provincial anti-conversion laws after their validity was challenged amid demands for a federal law to contain alleged rampant fraudulent religious conversions. The Supreme Court on Feb. 3 served notices on the federal government and five provincial governments — Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka — on a fresh petition filed by a group called Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) challenging the constitutionality of their anti-conversion laws. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed them to file their counter affidavits within three weeks and set March. 17 for the hearing. Earlier, the court issued notices to Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand about a similar petition against their anti-conversion laws. The CJP said in a statement that it is fighting a ‘Love Jihad’ myth that has led to violence and intimidation by police and non-state actors (against minority communities especially Muslims). “The ‘Love Jihad’ laws legitimize un-constitutional, anti-minority and misogynistic beliefs, and help further the hateful, communal agenda of extremists”, it said. "The top court is hearing
Indian hardliners ask to stop welfare benefits to tribal Christians
Hindu nationalist body wants tribals who converted to Christianity to be left out of the nation's affirmative action program A radical Hindu group has demanded to stop the benefits of India’s affirmative action program to tribal Christians ahead of state polls in two Christian-majority states in the northeast region. A pro-Hinud forum for protecting indigenous faith and culture, called Janajati Dharma-Sanskriti Suraksha Manch, said they want the government to remove tribal people who converted to Christianity or Islam from the official list of Scheduled Tribes (STs). Those on the list are eligible for social welfare benefits meant for indigenous and social groups designated as socio-economically disadvantaged. Forum members told media that they plan a demonstration before the state secretariat in Guwahati on Feb. 12 and march to the capital city of Dispur demanding both the federal and state governments make constitutional amendments to prevent tribal Christians from drawing government benefits. Binud Kumbang, a forum leader in the northeastern state of Assam, said tribal Christians are drawing double benefits by getting their children admitted to Christian schools and also seeking scholarships and jobs quotas under the government’s welfare policy. Socially poor Dalit people are denied welfare benefits on the ground that their religion does not practice the
Indian govt against transfer of petitions on anti-conversion laws
The laws are enacted by states, no need to transfer petitions challenging them to Supreme Court, attorney general argues The Indian federal government has objected to petitions challenging the anti-conversion laws enacted by states being moved to the Supreme Court for a uniform hearing. Attorney General R. Venkataramani told a bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Jan. 30 that the government has “serious objections” to transferring the 21 petitions pending in the high courts of six states. “These are state legislation. The state high courts must hear these matters,” Venkataramani argued. Eleven Indian states have enacted anti-conversion laws aimed at curbing change of religion by individuals or groups through allurement, force, coercion or any other fraudulent means. Christian and Muslim leaders say these laws target their people and violate the religious freedom guaranteed in the Indian constitution. Critics say these laws violate the freedom guaranteed in the constitution to profess, preach and propagate any religion of choice to all its citizens. Petitioners argued that these laws have a "chilling effect" on the right to profess and propagate one’s religion, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Petitions challenging the constitutional validity of these laws are pending in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Indian court refuses to scrap panel on Dalit Christian quotas
The petition by a Christian of Dalit origin pointed out that the government has been studying the issue since 1955 India’s top court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of a panel to examine if Dalit people who converted to Christianity or Islam are eligible for the government's social welfare programs. The federal government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Oct. 6 last year set up a three-member commission to consider granting converted Dalit people the Scheduled Caste status, making them eligible for the government's affirmative action programs mean to bring Dalit people to the social mainstream. The committee was also asked to study the implications of extending the benefits to Dalit Christians and Muslims, and submit a report within two years. Dalit Christian leaders dismissed the appointment of the panel as a tactic to delay their recognition as SC, which will ensure them a share in the 15 percent reserved quota in parliament and state legislatures, government jobs and education. Currently, Dalit people among Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist religions enjoy these benefits but Christian and Muslim people from Dalit backgrounds are denied the benefits on the ground that their religions are caste-free. The petitioner, Pratap Baburao Pandit, who claims to be
Statement
Extremist outfits and their proxies in America should think deep and hard as to what they are actually doing on the US soil. December 21. 2022, Washington DC. Last May, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court in D.C. accusing Mr. John Prabhudoss, the Chairman of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, along with the co-founders of Hindus for Human Rights, Ms. Sunita Viswanathan and Mr. Raju Rajagopal, and Prof. Audrey Truschke and Mr. Rashid Ahmed of IAMC, of defaming HAF in commentary each made about reports in the press that HAF and other extremist Hindu nationalist organizations had obtained federal COVID relief. The reports were that HAF and others received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government meant for companies trying to survive the pandemic. On December 20th, 2022 Federal Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the case against all defendants. While he ruled that there was no personal jurisdiction over Ms. Viswanathan, Mr. Rajagopal, Prof. Truschke, and Mr. Ahmed, Judge Mehta dismissed the claims against Mr. Prabhudoss on the merits. He found that HAF “does not plausibly allege that Prabhudoss’s statements are verifiably false” because they amounted to statements of opinion. He further found
