New Delhi, January 6 The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the provisions of an Uttar Pradesh Ordinance and a Uttarakhand law aimed at checking unlawful religious conversions for inter-faith marriages. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, however, issued notice to the two states asking them to respond in four weeks to petitions filed by Vishal Thakre and others and NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace challenging the controversial UP Ordinance and the Uttarakhand law. At the outset, a disinclined CJI said, "The challenge is already pending in high courts. Why don't you go there? We are not saying you have a bad case. But you must approach the high courts in the first instance instead of coming to the Supreme Court directly."