The Supreme Court of India will hear a challenge against the country’s anti-conversion laws.
India’s Supreme Court has agreed to review the country’s controversial anti-conversion laws after more than 400 Christians were arrested in 2025. Over 125 remain jailed on false charges. The court will hear a constitutional challenge that argues the laws have led to widespread abuse and wrongful arrests of minorities.
At a hearing on February 2, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on the petition National Council of Churches in India vs. State of Rajasthan and referred the matter to a three-judge bench, after petitioners raised concerns about vague provisions, intrusive procedures and misuse by vigilante groups.
Local sources told Christian Solidarity International (CSI) that petitioners argued these state laws permit complaints by unrelated third parties and create a chilling effect on interfaith couples, Dalits (as per the rigid caste system in Hindu societies), tribal or indigenous communities, and religious minorities, mostly Christians and Muslims.
Lawyers told the bench that “innocent persons are being arrested,” because of politically motivated or fabricated complaints, and urged the court to fix a hearing date for an application to stay the enforcement of these laws during the constitutional review.
More than 180 first information reports (FIRs, or formal police complaints) were filed against Christians in 2025 across 12 states that have enacted laws regulating religious conversion. About 600 individuals were released after detention or imprisonment, and over 170 people were acquitted by various courts during the same year, CSI has learnt through its local partners.
The next date of hearing is pending confirmation by the registry, but the court’s decision to expand the bench signals that it considers the matter to involve substantial constitutional questions.
Police action against pastors and congregants
Though Christians form only 2.3 percent of India’s population, they have been targeted under allegations of forced conversions, which are propagated by Hindu nationalist groups. The allegations have led to routine police action against Christian pastors, worshipers and entire congregations, particularly in rural areas where small prayer gatherings are more vulnerable to surveillance and interruption.
Legal observers have noted that most complaints under the anti-conversion laws are based on vague accusations rather than formal grievances from the individuals allegedly converted, allowing politically motivated actors to weaponize the law without scrutiny.
Several states require individuals intending to convert to submit a declaration to local authorities 60 days before the event, triggering a mandatory police inquiry into the reason and circumstances of the conversion. After the conversion, the law obligates the individual to file a second declaration and compels the state to publicly display sensitive personal information, including name, address and location of the “ceremony.”
In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the burden of proof falls on the accused to demonstrate that a conversion was voluntary and unconnected to fraud or inducement.
Religious minorities intimidated and silenced
Human rights lawyers say the process of prosecution under the anti-conversion laws is intrusive and stigmatizing, functioning as a deterrent and exposing converts to backlash from their communities. They argue that even when cases do not proceed to trial, the combination of arrest, pre-trial detention, and procedural obstacles serves to intimidate and silence religious minorities.
The petitioners argued that the laws’ provisions violate the rights to privacy, belief and free expression under the Constitution, and have been selectively enforced to intimidate religious minorities.
Citing an example of the suffering caused by anti-conversion laws, a local source told CSI that Sapna (not her real name), a Christian woman from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh who was three months pregnant and caring for a toddler, was arrested in 2022 at a prayer meeting following an anonymous complaint. She was charged under the Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and detained along with her brother and another person.
During police questioning, officers allegedly mocked her faith and made remarks about her caste status. Her 16-month-old daughter was taken home by grandparents, but Sapna remained in custody until being released one and a half months later.
Although she and the others were eventually acquitted by the Sessions Court in Azamgarh in 2025, after the complainant withdrew the case and the High Court quashed proceedings, Sapna has not resumed attending prayer meetings due to fear of further arrest.
Even acquittals offer limited protection against future harassment under laws that enable arrests without evidence of coercion or inducement.
