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A Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court has sought investigation into the root-cause of death of 17-year-old Lavanya, who died of suicide and on January 19, 2022 in Thanjavur Tamil Nadu, allegedly on account of pressure & harassment to convert to Christianity.

The petition filed by Advocate Ashwini Updhyay has further sought declaration that fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits offends Articles 14, 21, 25 of the Constitution.

However, on January 31, 2022 Madras High Court had transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The death of the child is alleged to be a suicide over suspicion of a fraudulent and forceful religious conversion. The Court has found merit in the contention of the petitioner, the father of the late minor girl, that instead of finding out truth, the police has been trying to bolster the counter narrative of the Step mother's harassment angle towards her.

The petition in the apex court has submitted that "Lavanya’s untimely demise is a wake-up call. It reminds people of evangelists’ imperialistic goals. Indeed, it reminds people of how an elaborate plan has been used to uproot Hinduism-Secularism through time. In fact, many more M Lavanyas have been compelled to take such drastic measures as a result of such coercive-persuasive tactics."

It is alleged that "that a section of media and even the Tamil Nadu government seem to be determined to remove the conversion angle from the story."

"After the dying declaration, it was highlighted that the girl had lost her biological mother and it was her stepmother who had clashed with school authorities when the girl was asked to convert," the plea further added.

The plea has further alleged that "The Injury Caused to the Citizens is Extremely Large" because there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by ‘hook and crook and the carrot and the stick’.

"Incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also by using black magic, superstition, miracles but Centre and States have not taken stringent steps to stop this menace," the plea added.