The Supreme Court on Monday refused to intervene in a challenge to a Chhattisgarh High Court ruling that had upheld resolutions passed by certain tribal Gram Sabhas restricting the entry of Christian pastors and converts into their villages.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the petition after hearing Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves for the petitioner and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State.
The dispute arose from signboards installed at the entrance of some tribal villages declaring that Christian religious leaders and those who had converted to Christianity would not be permitted to enter. The Gram Sabhas defended the move as a preventive step against alleged forced or induced religious conversions.
At the hearing, the Bench noted that the High Court, in its judgment, had left it open to the petitioner to approach the competent authority the Gram Sabha for redress. The judges indicated that this remedy had not been exhausted before approaching the apex court.
Representing the State, Tushar Mehta submitted that the issues raised before the Supreme Court went beyond the scope of what had been argued before the High Court. He said the petitioner remained free to pursue appropriate proceedings before the High Court, if necessary.
Gonsalves argued that the High Court had sidestepped the core constitutional question by failing to examine the legality of barring Christian pastors and converts from entering villages. He also objected to what he described as unsubstantiated remarks in the High Court judgment about missionary activity in tribal regions. In his submission, directing the petitioner back to the Gram Sabha offered little practical remedy, since the resolutions themselves were under challenge.
The senior counsel further drew attention to other cases pending before the Supreme Court concerning alleged violence against Christians. He referred to proceedings before the Chief Justice of India’s Bench relating to reported attacks on pastors during prayer meetings, claiming that hundreds of such incidents had taken place. He also cited petitions concerning the denial of burial rights to tribal Christians and another matter relating to the alleged exhumation and relocation of bodies of converts.
Gonsalves additionally contended that despite numerous allegations of unlawful religious conversion in the State over the past decade, there had been no convictions.
The Bench, however, declined to interfere. Justice Nath observed that statutory mechanisms were available for examining disputed facts through affidavits and evidence, and that such avenues should be pursued before invoking the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.
The matter comes amid continuing reports of tension in parts of Chhattisgarh’s tribal belt, including Bastar, Narayanpur, Kanker and Kondagaon. Civil rights groups have documented instances of prayer meetings being disrupted, pastors being assaulted and Christian families facing social boycott, often linked to allegations of forced conversions.
