Religious congregations where conversions take place must be stopped: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that if religious congregations where conversions take place are not stopped immediately, the country's majority population will become a minority one day. Justice Rohit Rajan Agarwal made the observation while rejecting the bail application of one Kailash, who is accused of being involved in the religious conversion of several people from a village here.

"The word 'propagation' means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion," the court said.

"In the instant case, there are serious allegations against the applicant by the informant that her brother, along with several others, were taken from their village to attend a gathering in New Delhi and converted to Christianity. The brother of the informant never returned," it said.

"If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in the minority one day. Such religious congregations should be immediately stopped where conversions are taking place," the court observed.

In its order passed on Monday, the court said that the statements recorded by the investigation officer clearly revealed that Kailash had been taking people to attend religious congregations in New Delhi where they were being converted to Christianity.

"It has come to the notice of this court in several cases that unlawful activity of converting SC/ST people and other castes, including economically poor persons, to Christianity is being done at rampant pace throughout Uttar Pradesh.

"This court, prima facie, finds that the applicant is not entitled to bail. Hence, the bail application of the applicant involved in the aforesaid case crime is hereby, rejected," it said.

A case under Section 365 (abduction) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act was lodged against Kailash at Maudaha police station in Hamirpur district in 2023.

According to the FIR, one Ramphal, brother of the informant Ramkali Prajapati was allegedly taken to Delhi by Kailash to attend a social gathering. Several others from the village were also taken to such gatherings where all of them were converted to Christianity.

The applicant had promised the informant that her brother who was suffering from a mental illness would be treated and would return to the village within a week.

However, when that did not happen, she asked Kailash about her brother but did not get a satisfactory reply. She then approached the police.