(Guest)

How constitutional is anti faith bill?

anti faith bill: how equal this bill is?

anti faith bill is called the Maharashtra Eradication of Black magic and Evil and AghoriPractices Act 2005. from the name i think it can be understood what is the content of the bill. this bill is again an example of corrupt legislative practices of india on the following grounds:

1. violation of freedom of religion: this bill violates the right to freedom of religion granted by our constitution.this law violates the following rights of constitution:

(art. 25) free profession, practice and propagation of relion.

(art.26) freedom to manage religious affair.

(art.27) freedom to pay taxes for promotion of religion.

so a proposed bill violates not one, not two but three constitutional rights.

so you see how unconstitutional the bill is? i am afraid if it becomes a law what would then happen?

below a copy of this bill is attached. please download and read. no spam.

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2 Replies

STANLEY COUTINHO (Consultant) 06 May 2012

25. Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion

(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion

Most of us seem to forget the opening words of this F/R: SUBJECT TO PUBLIC ORDER, MORALITY AND HEALTH AND TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS PART. While 'Public Order, Morality and Health' are disputable in definition 'Other Provisions' is not. Profession etc of Religion is subject to these conditions. Therefore, the new law apparently seeks to provide a means of controlling the false leaders - those who promise to get things done through supernatural powers claimed to be possessed by them. The real religious leaders do not make such claims; they don't need to. People flock to them not merely for their 'so-called' (quoting the Bill!) miracles but for the wisdom and power that seems to flow from them. Such leaders are not even to close to any of the terms of the new Bill. Hence the fears expressed are not quite justifiable.

Having said that, there is always the possibilities of misuse. A Police Inspector (Gr B or whatever) may act on the pressure of 'higher ups' who find a relgious leader inconvenient in his (the higher-up's) designs of the defrauding the public - a fact that is more commonly seen than those 'so-called miracles' of religioius men.

(Guest)

my friend has just given a reply and i thanked him for his thoughtful reply. now some question arises from this reply.

my friend says that Profession of Religion is subject to these conditions i.e. Public Order, Morality and Health. this means those religion which harms Public Order, Morality and Health'should not be practiced and those that do not harm should be encouraged. fine. that should be. but how religion harms Public Order, Morality and Health'according to my learned friend?

when false leaders - those who promise to get things done through supernatural powers claimed to be possessed by them then the religion to which these leader belong damage Public Order, Morality and Health according my learned friend. now lets look at the bill. the bill is targeted to only aghori practices which is a large part of hinduism. now aghoris do claim that they possess supernatural powers and with that they claim that they can do miracle and thus harms our Public Order, Morality and Health according to my learned friend. so it is good and constitutional to ban them.

but are the aghoris the only one that preaches miracle? aren't there christians performing miraculous cure each day following their lord jesus christ? aren't there muslim imams saying that by reciting ayats from koran one can even heal deadly diseases which modern science cannot heal? aren't there satya sai baba who claim to perform miracle by using his bibhuti? are these practices not harming Public Order, Morality and Health'?

why then only aghoris are targeted by this bill? why not other religion? or is there any political strategy of abolishing hinduism gradually? how equal then this anti faith bill?

i don't think anti faith bill is constitutional because the pramble of the constitution says that it secure for all citizens equality of status and opportunity. this means that all citizens should be treated equally. this bill only abolish right of hindu to worship their gods on the ground of harming Public Order, Morality and Health'. it says nothing about miraculous practise of other religion on the same ground.