Lavanya death case: PIL filed in Apex Court seeking action on forced religious conversions

In Tamil Nadu's M Lavanya's death case, an advocate from Ghaziabad, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to 'control deceitful religious conversion'. The alleged suicide of the 17-year-old girl from Thanjavur hit the bulletin over suspicion that it was a case of fraudulent religious conversion under coercion and undue influence.

Kumar's plea before the Top Court further seeks a National Investigation Agency (NIA) / Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged suicide and/or National Human Right Commission / National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to investigate the root cause of the death of 17-year-old Lavanya, who committed suicide and died on January 19, 2022.  

"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits offends Articles 14, 21, 25 of the Constitution," the plea said.

'Petitioner submits that Lavanya’s untimely demise is a wake-up call'

While Article 14 of the Indian Constitution provides for equality before the law and equal protection of laws of the land, Article 21 provides for the protection of life and personal liberty of any individual. Notably, Article 25 confers moral rights on a person so as to ensure freedom of conscience to practice and propagate any religion of one's choice. 

In the petition, Kumar mentioned that the deceased 12th standard student of Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Tamil Nadu 'committed suicide by ingesting pesticides'. She told in her dying declaration that she was tortured and pressurized to convert to Christianity by the Missionary School, the plea read. 

'Religious conversion is a pan India problem'

Citing a similar case from Madhya Pradesh, Kumar stated that National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has uncovered a conversion racket in Missionary Girls’ Hostel in Raisen, Madhya Pradesh where 'tribal Hindu girls were brought to the hostel and were being taught Christian religious books to convert them to Christianity'. Subsequently, he mentioned a few similar instances of coerced conversion from Telangana and Gujarat. 

Seeking a change in the country in relation to forced religious conversion, Kumar sought a judiciary intervention and provisions of law to regulate the ill-practice. 

"Therefore, it is prayed that the Centre must constitute a Judicial Commission or an Expert Committee to examine the anti-conversion laws and policies of the developed nations and the best provisions of the Anti-Conversion Laws of the States and enact a law to control forceful and deceitful religious conversion. Alternatively, the Law Commission of India may be directed to prepare a report on religious conversions in India within a period of three months," the plea sought. 

"Petitioner respectfully submits that the population explosion and religious conversion by ‘hook and crook and carrot and the stick’ is a national problem. Therefore, Centre must enact a strong and effective Population Control Law and Anti Conversion Law on top priority," the plea further read.

Lavanya's suicide

A class 12 student attempted suicide on January 19 after alleging abuse by her hostel warden and an attempt to convert her family to Christianity. Tamil Nadu BJP leader K.Annamalai shared the video of the young girl, alleging the police were attempting to conceal the matter and change the course of the case. The accused warden has been arrested under the Juvenile Act along with other sections for abetting suicide.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered the person who shot the video of the 17-year-old girl alleging forced conversion, to appear for inquiry and submit the mobile phone. It is said to have a 44-second video of the deceased wherein she admits to atrocities by her warden and that she was coerced to practise Christianity.