The top court was hearing multiple petitions, some of them against religious conversions, and some others challenging the stringent anti-conversion laws in States.

Organisations like Citizens for Justice and Peace and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind have challenged the laws against religious conversions in different States.

Appeals have also been filed by the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat governments challenging interim orders passed by the respective High Courts in similar matters.

The plea filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay has sought stringent steps to tackle forceful religious conversions. The public interest litigation (PIL) petition has claimed that fraudulent and deceitful religious conversion is rampant across the country, and that the Central government has failed to control its menace.

Upadhya's plea was earlier being heard by a bench headed by Justice MR Shah who had observed that forceful religious conversion is a very serious issue that threatens the security of the country and citizens' freedom of conscience.

The bench led by Justice MR Shah had earlier taken a dim view of religious conversion in the guise of charity, stating that the intention of persons offering such charity will have to be examined in such cases.

Subsequently, that petition was transferred to CJI to be heard along with the petitions challenging anti-conversion laws.

The fundamental right to practice and propagate any religion under the Constitution does not include any fundamental right to convert people, the Central government had told the Supreme Court in an affidavit.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month directed the parties challenging anti-conversion laws of various States, to file a single common transfer petition seeking the transfer of similar petitions pending before various High Courts to the apex court.

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