Prayagraj (UP): The Allahabad High Court has observed that if the current trend of conversions during religious congregations is permitted to continue, the country’s majority population could eventually find itself in the minority one day.
A bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal stated that the religious congregations, where conversions are occurring and where the religions of the citizens of India are being changed, should be immediately stopped.
“If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in the minority one day, and such religious congregation should be immediately stopped where the conversion is taking place and changing the religion of citizen of India,” the court said.
The court also added that such conversions are against the Constitutional mandate of Article 25 of the Constitution of India, “which does not provide for religious conversion” but provides “only freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion”.
“Article 25 of the Constitution of India provides for Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, but it does not provide for conversion from one faith to another faith. The word ‘Propagation’ means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion,” the court said.
Importantly, the bench also noted that it has come to its attention in several cases that unlawful conversions of people from SC/ST castes and other economically disadvantaged groups to Christianity are occurring at a “rampant pace” throughout the State of Uttar Pradesh.
These observations were made by the court while rejecting a bail plea moved by one Kailash, who has been booked by UP Police under Section 365 IPC & Section 3/5(1) of the U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 on the allegations of taking people of his village to a social gathering in Delhi wherein he was instrumental in converting them to Christianity.
The applicant had allegedly assured the informant that her brother, who was suffering from a mental illness, would be treated and returned to his native village within a week. However, he was converted to Christianity instead. The FIR lodged against the applicant alleged that he had converted many people to Christianity.