Hoardings in Villages Barring Entry to Pastors, Converted Christians Not Unconstitutional: Chhattisgarh HC
The petitions said that the hoardings violated the Article 25 of the constitution of India that guarantees freedom of religion
Raipur: The Bilaspur high court in Chhattisgarh has held that the hoardings put up some villages in Bastar in the state barring entry of pastors and ‘converted Christians’ for religious programmes, cannot be termed as ‘unconstitutional’.
The division bench comprising chief justice Ramesh Sinha and justice Bibhu Datta Guru of the high court noted that the hoardings appear to have been put up by the concerned gram sabhas as a precautionary measure to protect the interests of indigenous tribes and local cultural heritage.
Rejecting the petitions filed by one Digbal Dandi of Kanker district and Narendra Bhavani of Bastar district raising the issue of segregation of Christians and their religious leaders from the mainstream village community, the bench has ruled that “The installation of the hoardings for preventing forcible conversion by way of allurement or fraudulent means cannot be termed as unconstitutional”.
The petitions alleged that the panchayat department instructed the zilla panchayat, janpad panchayat and eventually the gram panchayat to pass resolution or oath in the name and style ‘Hamari Parampara, Hamari Virasat’ (our tradition, our heritage) and the real motive behind the order was to push them to pass a resolution prohibiting the entry of pastors and ‘converted Christians’ in the village.
The petitioners claimed that a gram panchayat in Kanker district put up hoardings stating that the village comes under the Fifth Schedule Area and provisions of panchayat (Extension to Schedule Area) Act, 1996 (PESA Act) are applicable and that the gram sabha is competent to protect the identity and culture of the village.
Based on the resolution of the gram sabha, pastors and converted Christians from other villages are prevented from entering the village for religious programmes, creating a sense of fear among the people from minority communities, the petitions said.
The petitions said that the hoardings violated the Article 25 of the constitution of India that guarantees freedom of religion.
The prosecution however argued that the PESA rules empower the gram sabha to protect the system of local cultural heritage.