Prayagraj: Denying bail to a Muslim cleric , accused of converting a woman to Islam, the Allahabad High Court observed that any religious leader—Father, Maulvi, Maulana, or Karmkandi—converting any person by force, misrepresentation, fraud, undue influence, coercion or allurement, would be liable under UP Anti-Conversion Act . The applicant accused Maulana Mohammad Shan e Alam was accused of forcibly converting a woman to Islam and of performing her nikah with a Muslim man. A criminal case under section 3/5 (1) of UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 was registered against him at Ankur Vihar police station in Ghaziabad district.
Rejecting the cleric’s bail application, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal took note of the statement of the girl/informant recorded under section 164 criminal procedure code (CrPC), wherein she had categorically submitted that she was forced to accept Islam and nikah was performed. The court said the applicant-accused being the ‘Religion Convertor’ as defined under Section 2(i) of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, would be liable under the 2021 Act. “In the instant case, the applicant, who comes under the definition of “Religion Convertor”, as defined in Section 2(i) of Act, 2021 had got the nikah ceremony of the informant performed with accused Amaan.
The necessary declaration has to be obtained before conversion given in section 8 of Act, 2021 was not obtained from the district magistrate (DM), as mandated under the Act, 2021. Defiance of the provision of the Act, 2021 is punishable under section 5 of Act, 2021,” the court remarked. Section 3 of the 2021 Act prohibits conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion and allurement.
The plea taken by the accused applicant maulana was that he had only performed nikah in March 2024 had not forcibly converted her to Islam. On the other hand, the state counsel opposed the bail application and submitted that the girl had deposed under section 164 CrPC that she was forced to accept Islam and nikah was performed in March 2024, by the ‘Religion Converter’. After hearing both sides, court observed, “Constitution of India guarantees religious freedom to all persons that reflect social harmony and spirit of India.
According to the Constitution, the state has no religion and all religions are equal before the state and no religion shall be given preference over the other. All persons are free to preach, practice and propagate any religion of their choice. The Constitution confers on each individual the fundamental right to profess, practice and propagate his religion.
However, in recent past, many examples came to light where gullible persons had been converted from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by fraudulent means”, the court added in its order dated Aug 20..
