Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, 12 states on fresh PIL against anti-conversion laws

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre and 12 states, including Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh, on a fresh PIL filed by the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) challenging the validity of their respective anti-conversion laws.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi tagged the instant plea with the pending ones, while clarifying that the matter would be heard by a three-judge bench.

After hearing arguments by senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, who also sought a stay on the operation of these state laws, the court sought responses from the Centre and 12 state governments within four weeks.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, contended that similar petitions are pending which challenge the state laws. "Our reply is ready and will be filed shortly," he said.

Arora said that Odisha and Rajasthan have also come out with their separate laws, and they were not under challenge in earlier petitions. "There are amendments also in other Acts which are not challenged. Let me serve all the standing counsels," she said.

The counsel for the petitioner claimed that a few state laws are such that it "incentivises vigilante groups to complain" against so-called conversions, and hence many complaints are being filed.

Besides the Centre, the bench also issued notices to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.

On September 16, 2025, the court had sought the stand of several states on other pending pleas seeking a stay on their respective anti-conversion laws.