The Allahabad high court has pulled up the district administration of Prayagraj for ordering unwarranted and repeated police inquiries under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, against a Muslim man who voluntarily converted to Hinduism.
The inquiries were sought merely because a criminal case was lodged against the petitioner by his Hindu father-in-law, who was apparently opposed to his daughter’s marriage to the petitioner. Later, the ADM, Prayagraj had rejected the petitioner’s conversion application.
While making these observations, a division bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Indrajeet Shukla directed to put in abeyance the order passed by the ADM (administration), Prayagraj, who refused to confirm the declaration of the petitioner who voluntarily embraced ‘Sanatan Dharma’.
The high court further directed the concerned ADM to pass an order afresh, taking a pragmatic view of the matter, considering the first two reports favouring the petitioner, as well as the court’s own interaction with the petitioner and his wife.
Granting relief to the couple, the high court in its order dated May 5 directed that the petitioner is at liberty to live his married life with his wife with dignity and that the police shall not interfere. The court directed the authority to pass a fresh order within three weeks. The matter has been posted for a hearing on May 27.
The petitioner is an assistant professor at an institute of the Allahabad University. On January 12, 2022, he made a declaration under Section 8 of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, showing his intent to convert.
On February 11, 2022, the priest also gave declaratory information to the DM regarding the upcoming conversion ritual. Finally, on March 14, 2022, the conversion rituals were performed at an Arya Samaj temple.
Between 2022 and 2023, two police inquiry reports were submitted before the DM confirming that the conversion was voluntary and without undue influence. However, despite these clear findings in the police reports, the ADM again asked the police to submit a further report in light of a criminal case registered against the petitioner by the wife’s father, even though he was not in the picture at the time of the conversion.
Ultimately, on August 9, 2024, the ADM rejected the petitioner’s application for a conversion certificate, relying on a subsequent police report from July 2024 that specified the factum of the FIR and the filing of a charge-sheet against the petitioner.
In essence, on the basis of this last report, the ADM proceeded to assume that the petitioner deliberately got himself converted in order to get married to the lady whom he had allegedly unduly influenced or enticed away. The transaction of ₹1 lakh in April 2021 between the couple was taken by the ADM as stark evidence that the conversion was bad and void in law.
www.hindustantimes.com
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