Arunachal Pradesh appointed retired judge B.P. Katakey to chair the panel reviewing anti-conversion law rules.
The move follows a Gauhati High Court order to finalise the APFRA 1978 rules within six months.
Christian and indigenous groups remain divided over the law’s purpose and implementation.
The Arunachal Pradesh Government has named retired Gauhati High Court judge Brojendra Prasad Katakey as the new chair of a high-powered committee (HPC) tasked with reviewing draft rules for the State’s long-pending “anti-conversion” law. According to The Hindu, the appointment comes after the Gauhati High Court’s Itanagar Bench directed the government in September 2024 to finalise the rules for implementing the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978, within six months.
Katakey replaces State Home Minister Mama Natung as head of the HPC. The committee’s members include Ministers Kento Jini and Balo Raja, two senior bureaucrats, and representatives of six organisations — the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF), Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP), Monpa Mimang Tsogpa, Tai Khamti Development Society, Arunachal Vikas Parishad, and the State unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, The Hindu reported.
The panel has been directed to scrutinise the draft Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Rules, 1978, in line with the High Court’s directives and constitutional requirements. It has also been asked to consult relevant departments and experts before recommending changes to ensure the rules comply with constitutional provisions and judicial instructions. The Committee must submit its report “as soon as possible” to meet the court-mandated deadline.
The litigation prompting the court’s order was filed by advocate Tambo Tamin as a public interest petition, which the court disposed of after issuing its timeline, The Hindu noted.
The ACF has long opposed the “content and intent” of the APFRA, arguing that the Act contains ambiguities that “abridge the fundamental rights” of Christians guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution. Although ACF president Tarh Miri is now part of the HPC, the organisation maintains that the panel’s formation sidesteps its demand for the Act to be scrapped.
The IFCSAP, meanwhile, has been urging the State’s Bharatiya Janata Party government to expedite the rule-framing process and operationalise the law, The Hindu reported.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
