Religious Freedom Does Not Extend To Conversion: Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court on July 9, ruled that the right to freedom of religion, including the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion does not include the right to conversion. The Court was hearing a bail petition plea filed by Shriniwas Rav Nayak, who was booked under Sections 3/5 (1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

The Court denied bail to Shriniwas Rav Nayak, observing that the individual right to freedom of conscience and religion does not extend to convert another citizen from one religion to another. 

Read Also: “Majority Will Become Minority One Day”: Allahabad HC On Religious Conversions

While hearing the bail petition, a bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal asserted that individual’s right to freedom of conscience, as guaranteed by the Constitution, ensures that every person has the liberty to choose, practice, and express their religious beliefs, noting that this personal freedom does not extend to a collective right to proselytise, attempting to convert others to one’s religion. “The right to religious freedom belongs equally to the person converting and the individual sought to be converted,” the court added.

Regarding the case, the accused was alleged to be part of a religion conversion held on February 15. The informant was invited to co-accused Vishwanath’s house, where many villagers, mostly from the Scheduled Castes community, were gathered.

Read Also: Hindus In Gujarat Must Seek Approval Before Converting To Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism

Notably, the applicant, the brother of Vishwanath were present at the house, and according to the allegations, they urged the informant to leave Hinduism and convert to Christianity, saying that they would get relief and better life. However, the informant escaped when some villagers accepted Christianity. He also reported the incident to the police, leading to the police case.

However, seeking bail in the case, the accused’s lawyer argued that the FIR does not identify any “religion converter” as defined by Section 2(I)(i) of the 2021 Act, while submitting witnesses’ statements alleging undue influence for conversion were unsubstantiated. The lawyer also noted that no individual who had converted to Christianity complained to the authorities.

However, the court noted that the informant was persuaded to convert to another religion, and this was prima facie enough to decline bail, noting that that Section 3 of the 2021 Act clearly prohibits conversion from one religion to another based on misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, and allurement.

The Court also pointed out that it was established that a conversion programme was going on, and many villagers belonging to the Scheduled Castes community were being converted from Hinduism to Christianity.

Notably, in another ruling made in July 3, Allahabad High Court had said that religious gatherings resulting in conversions should be stopped immediately, warning that the “majority population could become a minority one day.”