ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed off a plea moved by the Pakistan Hindu Council, seeking enactment of a law against forced conversion of religions, after observing that Article 20 of the Constitution already provided protection to religious freedom.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain disposed off the petition after it was apprised by a deputy attorney general that the Article 20 of the Constitution already ensured freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions.

The Chief Justice during course of proceedings observed “There is no necessity of a specific legislation because every citizen has the right to practice religion of his own and in case of enforced conversion, laws always takes its own course.”

He told Advocate Muhammad Akram Sheikh that the Constitution was a living and self executing document and in its existence, there was no need for other legislation.

The petitioner had requested the court to issue direction for promulgation of a law prescribing it to be an offence punishable with imprisonment for a person who converted or attempted to convert any person from one religion to another by use of force, allurement or by fraudulent means or aids or abets any such conversion.

The Chief Justice told him “This bench is a great supporter of the minorities because they are the subject matter of the constitution.”

According to Article 20 of the Constitution, “Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion and that every religious denomination and every sect shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.”