An appeal has been filed in Allahabad High Court challenging the Uttar Pradesh ordinance against “love jihad”, calling the government move “morally and constitutionally repugnant”.

The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, passed by the Yogi Adityanath government on November 27, entails imprisonment up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different categories.

Police have registered many cases against Muslim men married to Hindu women and arrested several persons even though they were married much before the ordinance was brought into force.

Several BJP-ruled states have introduced laws against what they call “love jihad”, or an alleged conspiracy by Muslim men to marry, convert and radicalise Hindu women.

Saurav Kumar, an advocate in Allahabad, has in his public interest litigation filed on Friday said the Uttar Pradesh ordinance was “morally and constitutionally repugnant” and should be repealed to prevent atrocities against people.

The petitioner has also pointed out that chief minister Adityanath had said in a public speech on October 31 that his government would bring a law against “love jihad”. The chief minister had referred to a single-bench order of the high court that had ruled that religious conversion for marriage was invalid.

However, later a two-judge bench of the high court had overruled the order of the single bench and observed that the “right to live with a person of his/her choice irrespective of the religion professed by them is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty”.