SC refuses to transfer ‘love jihad’ law pleas

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 25

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the UP Government’s petition seeking transfer of pleas challenging it’s ordinance on religious conversion from the Allahabad High Court to the top court.

Notice to Centre on 22nd Law Commission

• The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the government on a PIL seeking constitution of the Law Commission and making it a statutory body.
• The panel, which advises the government on legal issues, has not been constituted since August 31, 2018, when Justice BS Chauhan’s term as Chairman of the 21st Law Commission ended.

Refusing to stop the Allahabad High Court from going ahead with the hearing of the matter, a Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, said it would like to have the advantage of having a decision of the High Court.“People are making light of High Courts these days. High Courts are constitutional courts,” it noted. As the Bench wasn’t included to entertain the transfer petition, senior advocate PS Narasimha, representing the UP Government, chose to withdraw it and accordingly the petition was “dismissed as withdrawn”.

The Uttar Pradesh Government had moved the Supreme Court last week seeking transfer of petitions challenging its ordinance aimed at checking unlawful religious conversion for inter-faith marriages.

The state government had invoked Article 139A of the Constitution, which empowers the Supreme Court to transfer to itself cases “involving the same or substantially the same questions of law” pending before the top court and one or more HCs.