Nashik MNC case: SC plea filed against 'deceitful conversions'; 'prioritise Hindus for jobs' says BJP
After allegations of sexual harassment, forced conversion at a TCS unit, legal activists move SC; Maharashtra minister calls for "Hindu-first" hiring policies
A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday (April 16) in the aftermath of allegations of religious conversion and sexual harassment at a multinational company (MNC) in Nashik seeking directions to control deceitful religious conversion.
The plea was filed in the backdrop of charges of sexual harassment and allegations of forced religious conversion levelled by eight female employees at a BPO unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Nashik. TCS had suspended the seven officers at the Nashik office when the case came to light.
Meanwhile, claiming the emergence of "corporate jihad" in the state, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane said giving preference to hiring only Hindu candidates was the "need of the hour" to prevent "jihadist activities".
Police have arrested eight employees of TCS, including seven men and a female operations manager. Another female employee is absconding. The National Commission for Women on Wednesday said it has set up a fact-finding committee to probe the alleged incidents of sexual harassment of employees.
The SC plea
The plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay contended that deceitful religious conversion is not only a serious threat to sovereignty, secularism, democracy, and liberty but also a menace to fraternity, dignity, unity and national integration.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, has sought directions to the Centre and state government to take stringent steps to control religious conversion.
Also read: TCS Nashik case: ‘Male accused operated like organised gang to target female colleagues’
It has also sought directions to the Centre and states to establish special courts to deal with religious conversion cases and declare that the sentence for the deceitful religious conversion shall be consecutive, not concurrent.
The petition stated that the Right to Freedom of Religion does not carry the right to convert others through fraud, force, coercion or cheating.
Article 25 gives freedom of conscience, profession, practice and propagation of religion, subject to public order, health and morality, it said.
"All persons will have the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion and not that all persons will have the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. It means the right to profess, practice and propagate religion is free to everyone, but cannot be practised absolutely or freely.
The plea said it has conditions of public order, morality and health, and the other provisions of this part. The freedom to act upon one's religion is not absolute, it added.
"The expression does not mean that every person is free to do whatever they wish in the name of religion. Rather, it means that everyone has the right freely to profess, practise and propagate, but this freedom itself is subject to reasonable restrictions," the plea said.
Serious issue
The plea has been filed by Upadhyay in his pending petition seeking direction to the Centre and states to take tough steps to control fraudulent religious conversions. Observing that religious conversion is a serious issue which should not be given a political colour, the top court in 2023 had sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani on the plea.
'Prioritise Hindus in jobs'
Referring to the TCS case in Nashik, Rane alleged that jobs were being misused as a tool for religious conversion.
"If every platform, from trade to corporate offices, is used to target Hindus through various forms of jihad, it is time for a firm response," he told reporters.
Due to such incidents, a sentiment is growing within the Hindu community to engage in economic transactions and employment solely with fellow Hindus to safeguard interests, the fisheries minister claimed.
The minister warned that companies might soon adopt a policy of hiring only Hindus to prevent such "jihadist activities".
"We are not seeking to divide society, but reacting to the experiences on the ground. If employment provided for livelihood is diverted towards religious conversion, then prioritising Hindu candidates is the need of the hour to strengthen the 'Hindu rashtra'," Rane added.
"It is time to take a stand if employment is misused for stoking jihad, instead of seeing it as a means of livelihood," Rane said.