New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday asked various state governments to file their responses to applications seeking a stay on religious conversion laws enacted by them.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing a clutch of pleas challenging the constitutionality of laws dealing with religious conversions in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

The bench gave state governments four weeks to furnish their replies.

The development took place during the resumed hearing of a plea filed by an NGO, Citizens for Peace and Justice, which has challenged religious conversion laws enacted by various state governments.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that there was great urgency in hearing the matter as some states were working on amendments to make these laws more stringent.

Although these laws are called the 'Freedom of Religion Act', they are curtailing the religious freedom of minorities and targeting interfaith marriages and religious practices, the counsel added.

He submitted that in 2024, the law in Uttar Pradesh was amended to increase the punishment for unlawful religious conversion through marriage to a minimum of 20 years, which can extend up to life imprisonment for the remainder of one's life.

The bench was also informed that the Gujarat High Court had in 2021 stayed certain provisions of the Gujarat religious conversion law. A similar stay order was passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The two state governments have already moved the apex court challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts.