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The Law Commission's recommendations on religious conversion are being hotly debated in legal circles. Some experts tell V. Kumara Swamy that a change in religion should be documented

G.A. Arife converted to Hinduism and became Arti just before her marriage to Gopal Dutt Sharma in 1989. But after a few years when the marriage went sour and she wanted a divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955, all hell broke loose. Her husband maintained that her conversion was a sham and that she had continued to follow Islam even after marriage. He also contended that there was no documentary evidence to prove that she had really converted to Hinduism.

After losing the case in lower courts, the woman approached the Delhi High Court. In August 2010, the court, while admitting that it was in a "Catch-22 situation", ruled against the appellant saying that she had failed to prove her conversion from Islam to Hinduism and refused any relief under HMA.

"The court was pretty clear that just an oral submission that she had converted to another religion wasn't enough. There was no other substantial evidence to prove that her conversion to Hinduism had taken place, "recalls Gita Dhingra, a Delhi High Court lawyer who was in the team that argued against Arife.