The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant an immediate stay on an ordinance promulgated by Uttar Pradesh and a law passed in Uttarakhand prohibiting religious conversion for the sake of marriage, even as it said it would adjudicate over the constitutional validity of these laws.
The refusal to grant stay could have serious repercussions, especially for Muslim men, several of whom have been jailed in Uttar Pradesh since the law came into effect there on November 28.
Popularly referred to as “love jihad” laws, a reference to the conspiracy theory floated by Hindutva supporters that Muslim men are courting Hindu women merely to get them to convert to Islam, the ordinances provide for jail terms of up to 10 years if marriages are found to have been effected with the sole intention of converting the women. The marriages will also be cancelled.
The petitioners claimed that the laws violated the right to liberty.
The court on Wednesday initially asked the…