Summarize the following court judgment. Appeal Nos. & 1511 of 1974. (Appeals by certificate./Special Leave from the Judg ment and Order dated 23 4 1974 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc. Petition No. 136/73). Criminal Appeal No. 255 of 1974. (From the Judgment and Order dated 23 4 1974 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Criminal Revision No. 159/71) and Civil Appeal NOs. 344 346 of 1976. (Appeals by Special Leave from the Judgment and. Order dated 24 10 1972 of the Orissa High Court in C.J.C. 185	 186 and 217 of 1969). Frank Anthony	 in CA 1489	 CrI. A. 255/74 and CA 346/76 for the appellant in CAs 1489 and 1511/74 and Crl. A. No. 255/74 and RR. 1 and 2 in CAs 346/76. Soli J. Sorabiee in CA 1511	 Crl. A. 255/74 1. B. Dadac hanji	 K. J. John O.C. Mathur and Ravinder Narain for the appellant in CAs 1489 and 1511/74 and Crl. A. No. 255/74 and RR. 1 and 2 in CAs 346/76. Gobind Das (In CAs 344 346/76) B. Parthasarthi	 for the appellants in CAs 344 346/76. Soli J. Sorabjee	 B.P. Maheshwari and Suresh Sethi	 for R. 3 in CA 346/76. Brijbans Kishore	 B.R. Sabharwal	 for RR. in CA 345/76. Gobind Das	Raj Kumar Mehta	for the Intervener (State of Orissa) in C.A. 1489/74. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by RAY	 C.J. These appeals were heard together because they raise common questions of law relating to the interpre tation of the Constitution. Civil Appeals No. 1489 and 1511 of 1974 and Criminal Appeal No. 255 of 1974 are directed against a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated 23 April	 1974. We shall refer to these as the Madhya Pradesh cases. Civil Appeals No. 344 346 of 1976 relate to a judgment. of the orissa High Court dated 24 October	 1972. We shall refer to these appeals as the Orissa cases. 613 The controversy in the Madhya Pradesh cases relates to the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968	 hereinafter referred to as the Madhya Pradesh Act. The controversy in the Orissa cases arises out of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act	 1967 hereinafter referred to as the Orissa Act. The provisions of the 'two Acts in so far as they relate to. prohibition of forcible conversion and punishment there for	 are similar and the questions which have been raised before us are common to both of them. It will	 therefore	 be enough	 for the purpose of appreciating the controversy	 to make a somewhat detailed mention of the facts of the Madhya Pradesh case. The Sub Divisional Magistrate of Baloda Bazar sanctioned the prosecution of Rev. Stainislaus for the commission of offences under sections 3	 4 and 5(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Act. When the case came up before Magistrate	 First Class	 Baloda Bazar	 the appellant Rev. Stainislaus raised a preliminary objection that the State Legislature did not have the necessary legislative competence and the Madhya Pradesh Act was ultra vires the Constitution as it did not fall within the purview of Entry I of List II and Entry I of List III of the Seventh Schedule. The appellant 's conten tion was that it was covered by Entry 97 of List I so that Parliament alone had the power to make the law and not the State Legislature. An objection was also raised that the provisions of sections 3	 4 and 5(2) of the Act contra vened Article 25 of the Constitution and were void. The Magistrate took the view that there was no force in the. objection and did not refer the case to the High Court under section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure	 1898. The appellant applied to the Additional Sessions Judge for a revision of the Magistrate 's order refusing to make a reference to the High Court. The Additional Sessions Judge also took the view that no question of constitutional impor tance arose in the case and he did not think it necessary to make a reference to the High Court. The appellant thereupon applied to the High Court for revision under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and he also filed a petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. The High Court heard both the revision and the writ petition together. The appellant raised the following three questions in the High Court : (i) that sections 3	 4	 5(2) and 6 of the M.P. Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968 are viola tive of the petitioner 's fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 25 ( 1 ) of the Consti tution of India; (ii) that in exercise of powers conferred by Entry No. 1 of List II	 read with Entry No. 1 of List III of the Seventh Schedule the Madhya Pradesh Legislature in the name of public order could not have enacted 614 the said legislation. But the matter would fail within the scope of Entry No. 97 of List I of the Seventh Schedule	 which confers residuary powers on Parliament to legislate in respect of any matters not covered by List I	 List I1 or List III. Therefore	 it is contended that Parliament alone had the power to legislate on this subject and the legisla tion enacted by the State Legislature is ultra vires the powers of the State legislature; (iii) that section 5(1) and section 5(2) of the M.P. Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968 amount to testimonial compulsion and	 therefore	 the said provisions are violative of Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India. The High Court examined the controversy with reference to the relevant provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Act and the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Rules	 1969 and held as follows : "What is penalised is conversion by force	 fraud or by allurement. The other element is that. every person has a right to profess his own religion and to act according to it. Any interference with that right of the other person by resorting to conversion by force	 fraud or allurement cannot	 in our opinion	 be said to contravene Article 25(1) of the Con stitution of India	 as the Article g uarantees religious freedom subject to public health. As such	 we do not find that the provisions of sections 3	 4 and 5 of the M.P. Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968 are violative of Article 25(1) of the Constitution of India. On the other hand	 it guarantees that religious freedom to one and all includ ing those who might be amenable to conversion by force	 fraud or allurement. As such	 the Act	 in our opinion	 guarantees equality of religious freedom to all	 much less can it be said to encroach upon the religious freedom of any particular individual. " The High Court therefore held that there was no justi fication for the argument that sections 3	 4 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Act were violative of Article 25(1) of the Constitution. The High Court in fact went on to hold that those sections "establish the equality of religious freedom for all citizens by prohibiting conversion by objec tionable activities such	 as conversion by force	 fraud and by allurement". As regards the question of legislative competence	 the High Court took note of some judgments of this Court and held that as "the phrase 'public order ' conveys a wider connotation as laid down by their Lordships! of the Supreme Court in the different cases. We are of the opinion that the subject matter of the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968 fails within the scope of Entry No. I of List II of the Seventh Schedule relating to the State List regarding public order". 615 On the remaining point relating to testimonial compul sion with reference to Article 20(3)of the Constitution	 the High Court held that section 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Act read with Form A	 prescribed by the Rules	 merely made provision for the giving of intimation to the District Magistrate about conversion and did not require its maker to make a confession of any offence as to whether the conver sion had been made on account of fraud	 force or allurement	 'which had been penalised by the Act. The High Court thus held that mere giving of such information was not violative of Article 30(1) of 'the Constitution. But the question of testimonial compulsion within the meaning of Article 20(3) of the Constitution has not been raised for our considera tion. The Orissa cases arose out of petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the vires of the Orissa Act. The High 	Court stated its conclusions in those cases as follows: (1) Article 25(1) guarantees propagation of religion and conversion is a part of the Christian religion. (2) Prohibition of conversion by 'force ' or by 'fraud ' as defined by the Act would be covered by the limitation subject to which the right is guaranteed under Article 25 (1). (3) The definition of the term 'inducement ' is vague and many proselytizing activities may be covered by the definition and the restriction in Article 25 (1) cannot be said to cover the wide definition. ' (4) The State LegisLature has no power to enact the impugned legislation which in pith and substance is a law relating to religion. Entry No. 1 of either List II or List III does not authorise the impugned legislation. (5) Entry 97 of List I applies. The High Court has therefore declared the Orissa Act to be ultra vires the Constitution and directed the issue of mandamus to the State Government not to give effect to it. The criminal cases which were pending have been quashed. The common questions which	 have been raised for our consideration are (1) whether the two Acts were violative of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25(1) of the Constitution	 and (2) whether the State Legislatures were competent to enact them ? Article 25(1) of the Constitution reads as follows: "25(1) Subject to public order	 ' morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part	 all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess	 practise and propagate religion. " 616 Counsel for the appellant has argued that the right to 'propagate ' one 's religion means the right to convert a person to one 's own religion. On that basis	 counsel has argued further that the right to convert a person to one 's own religion is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25 (1) of the Constitu tion. The expression 'propagate ' has a number of meanings	 including "to multiply specimens of (a plant	 animal	 disease etc.) by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock"	 but that cannot	 for obvious reasons	 be the meaning for purposes of Arti cle 25 (1) of the Constitution. The Article guarantees a right to freedom of religion	 and the expression 'propagate ' cannot there fore be said to have been used in a biologi cal sense. The expression 'propagate ' has been de fined in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary to mean "to spread from person to person	 or from place to place	 to disseminate	 diffuse (a statement	 belief	 practice	 etc.)" According to the Century Dictionary (which is an Encylopaedic Lexicon of the English Language) Vol. VI	 'propagate ' means as follows : "To transmit or spread from person to person or from place to place; carry forward or onward; diffuse; extend; as propagate a report; to propagate the Christian religion". We have no doubt that it is in this sense. that the word 'propagate ' has been used in Article 25 (1)	 for what the Article grants is not the right to convert another person to one 's own religion	 but to transmit or spread one 's religion by an exposition of its tenets. It has to be remembered that Article 25 (1) guarantees "freedom of conscience" to every citizen	 and not merely to the follow ers of one particular religion	 and that	 in turn	 postu lates that there is no fundamental right to convert another person to one 's own religion because if a person purposely undertakes the conversion of another person to his religion	 as distinguished from his effort to transmit or spread the tenets of his religion	 that would impinge on the "freedom of conscience" guaranteed to all the citizens of the coun try alike. The meaning of guarantee under Article 25 of the Con stitution came up for consideration in this Court in Ratilal Panachand Gandhi vs The State of Bombay & Ors. (1) and it was held as follows : "Thus	 subject to the restrictions which this Article imposes	 every person has a fundamental right under our Constitution not merely to entertain such	 religious belief as may be approved of by his judgment or con science but to exhibit his belief and ideas in such overt acts as are enjoined or sanctioned by his religion and further to propagate his religious views for the edification of others." (1) [1954]S.C.R. 1055. 617 This Court has given the correct meaning of the Article	 and we find no justification for the view that it grants. a fundamental right to convert persons to one 's own reli gion. It has to be appreciated that the freedom of religion enshrined in the Article is not guaranteed in respect of one religion only	 but covers all religions alike	 and it can be properly enjoyed by a person if he exercises his right in a manner commensurate with the like freedom of persons follow ing the other religions. What is freedom for one	 is free dom for the other	 in equal measure	 and there can there fore be no such thing as a fundamental right to convert any person to one 's own religion. It was next been argued by counsel that the Legislatures of Madhya Pradesh	 and Orissa States did not have legisla tive competence to pass the Madhya Pradesh Act and the Orissa Act respectively	 because their laws regulate 'rel igion ' and fall under the Residuary Entry 97 in List 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. It is not in controversy that the Madhya Pradesh Act provides for the prohibition of conversion from one religion to. another by use of force or allurement	 or by fraudulent means	 and matters incidental thereto. The expressions "allurement" and 'fraud ' have been defined by the. Section 3 of the Act prohibits conversion by use of force or by allurement or by fraudulent means and section 4 pena lises such forcible conversion. Similarly	 section 3 of the Orissa Act prohibits forcible conversion by the use of force or by inducement or by any. fraudulent means	 and section 4 penalises such forcible conversion. The Acts therefore dearly provide for the maintenance of public order for	 if forcible conversion had not been prohibited	 that would have created public disorder in the States. The expression "Public order" is of wide conno tation. It must have the connotation which it is meant to provide as the very first Entry in List II. It has been held by this Court in Ramesh Thapper vs The State of Madras(1) that "public order" is an expression of wide connotation and signifies state of tranquility which pre vails among the members of a political society as a result of internal regulations enforced by the Government which they have established". Reference may also be made to the decision in Ramjilal Modi vs State of U.P. (2) where this Court has held that the right of freedom religion guaranteed by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution is expressly made subject to public order	 morality and health	 and that "it cannot be predicat ed that freedom of religion can have no bearing whatever on the maintenance of public order or that a law creating an offence relating to religion cannot under any circumstances be said to have been enacted in the interests of public order". It has been held that these two Articles in terms contemplate that restrictions may be imposed on the rights guaranteed by them in the interests of public order. Refer ence may as well be made to the decision in Arun Ghosh vs State of WeSt Bengal(a) where it has been held that if a thing disturbs the current of the life of the community	 (1) ; (2) ; (3) ; 618 and does not merely affect an individual	 it would amount to disturbance of the public order. Thus if an attempt is made to raise communal passions	 e.g. on the ground that some one has been "forcibly" converted to anoth er religion	 it would	 in all probability	 give rise to an apprehension of a breach of the public order	 affecting the community at large. The impugned Acts therefore fall within: the purview of Entry I of List II of the Seventh Schedule as they are meant to avoid disturbances to the public order by prohibiting conversion from one religion to another in a manner reprehensible to the conscience of the community. The two Acts do not provide for the regulation of religion and! we do not find any justification for the argument that they fall under Entry 97 of List I of the Seventh Schedule. In the result Civil Appeals No. 1489 and 1511 of 1974 and Criminal Appeal No. 255 of 1974 fall and are dismissed while Civil Appeals No. 344 346 of 1976 are allowed and the impugned judgment of the Orissa High Court dated 24 October	 1972 is set aside. The parties shall pay and bear their own costs	 in Madhya Pradesh appeals. The State shall pay the respondent costs in the Orissa appeal according to previous direction. P.H.P. C.As. 1489 & 1511 of 1974 and Cr. A. No. 255 of 1974 dismissed. 344 346 of 1976 allowed.

The constitutional validity of the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam	 1968	 was challenged in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and the constitutional validity of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act	 1967 was challenged in the High Court of Orissa. The two Acts prohibit forcible conversion and make the offence punishable. The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the validity of the Act. The Orissa High Court held that article 25(2) of the Constitution guarantees propogation of religion and conversion is a part Christian religion; that the State Legislature has no power to enact the impugned legislation which in pith and sub stance is a law relating to religion; and that entry 97 of List I would apply. Upholding the validity of both the Acts	 HELD: (1) Article 25 guarantees to all persons right to freedom and conscience and the right freely to profess	 practice and propogate religion subject to public order	 morality and health. The word 'propogate ' has been used in the Article as meaning to transmit or spread from person to person or from place to place. The Article does not grant right to convert other person to one 's own religion but to transmit or spread one 's religion by an exposition of its tenets. The freedom of religion enshrined in article 25 is not guaranteed in respect of one religion only but covers all religions alike which can be properly enjoyed by a person if he exercises his right in a manner commensurate with the like freedom of persons following other religion. What is freedom for one is freedom for the other in equal measure and there can	 therefore	 be no such thing as a fundamental right to convert any person to one 's own religion. [616 B F	 617 A B] (2) The Madhya Pradesh Act prohibits conversion from one religion to another by use of force	 allurement or fraudu lent means and matters incidental thereto. Similarly	 the Orissa Act prohibits conversion by the use of force or by inducement or by any fraudulent means. Both the statutes	 therefore	 clearly provide for the maintenance of public order because if forcible conversion had not been prohibited that would have created public disorder in the States. The expression "public order" has a wide connotation. [617 C E] Ratilal Panachand Gandhi vs The State of Bombay & Ors. ; Ramesh Thappar vs The State of Madras ; ; Ramjilal Modi vs State of U.P. ; and Arun Ghosh vs State of West Bengal ; 	 followed. (3) If an attempt is made to raise communal passions	 e.g. on the ground that someone has been forcibly converted to another religion it would in all probability give rise to an apprehension of a breach of the public order affecting the community at large The impugned Acts therefore fall within the purview of Entry 1 of List II of the Seventh Schedule as they are meant to avoid 5 112SCI/77 612 disturbance to the public order by prohibiting conversion from one religion to another in a manner reprehensible to the conscience of the community. The two Acts do not provide for the regulation of religion and do not fall under Entry 97 of List I. [618 A C]