Bombay High Court rules religious conversion solely for marriage is impermissible

The Bombay High Court has observed that religious conversion undertaken solely for the purpose of marriage cannot be permitted, affirming that state legislation curbing coercive conversions acts to preserve the secular fabric of society.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna permitted the withdrawal of a petition challenging the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, after noting that the challenge was purely academic and lacked foundational facts showing how the petitioner had been directly aggrieved.

Maintaining society's secular fabric

Addressing the challenge, the bench emphasized that while individuals retain the freedom to change their faith voluntarily, conversions arranged merely to facilitate a marriage fall outside protected scope, as the state acts to prevent coercion and fraudulent practices.

"This is just to maintain the secular fabric of society," the bench observed during the hearing. "The state is only concerned with coercion or religious conversion with force. Anyone has freedom to change their religion. But just for the purpose of marriage, conversion cannot be permitted."

The court questioned the practice of converting a day before marriage and asked the petitioner to demonstrate specific instances where state intervention had interfered with legitimate religious practice.

Lack of concrete grievances

The petition, filed by 70-year-old Islamic teacher Maulana Halimullah Farooque Ahemed Khan from Thane, challenged several provisions of the law, including Section 2(a) defining allurement and Section 6 requiring a 60-day prior notice before converting.

Senior Advocate Yusuf Muchhala, representing the petitioner, argued that statutory requirements imposed restrictions on freedom of conscience. However, the bench noted an absence of factual pleadings showing actual inconvenience or direct state interference under the Act.

The court declined a request to amend the petition during proceedings, observing that constitutional challenges require concrete ground realities rather than abstract assertions.

Structure of the anti-conversion provisions

The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, was enacted to prohibit unlawful conversions and safeguard public order against fraudulent inducements.

Following the bench's observations regarding the lack of specific evidence, counsel for the petitioner sought leave to withdraw the proceedings. The High Court granted permission to withdraw while preserving liberty to file a fresh petition supported by adequate factual details.