Source: Allahabad High Court

Why in News?

Recently, the Allahabad High Court in the matter of Ruksar v. State of UP & Ors., has held that the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 (Act of 2021) will fail to achieve its intended purpose, if there is frequent interference with prosecutions at the initial stage.

What was the Background of Ruksar v. State of UP & Ors. Case?

• In this case, the petitioner is charged with offences under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Sections 3 and 5 (1) of the Act of 2021.
• The allegation against the petitioner and the co-accused, Abdul Rahman, is that Abdul Rahman would stalk the informant since the year, 2022 when she was reading in Class-X.
• He would follow her to the temple and college. It is also said that once he called her home and ravished her. Later on, this became a regular feature.
• Abdul Rahman was married and his brother, Irfan alias Chotu, started stalking the informant. He made friends with the informant. They put the informant under fear of losing her reputation and spoiling her life.
• The allegation against the petitioner is that he suggested the informant that she better convert to Islam and marry Irfan alias Chotu.
• On 30^th March 2024, all the accused acting in conspiracy called the informant over to their place on the pretext of meeting her where she was ravished by the man. Irfan would take her to a mazar and force her to wear Burqa.
• After this ordeal, the accused put her on board a train bound for Karvi and sent her back. At the Karvi Station, Abdul Rahman received the informant and threatened her with death and told her that if she disclosed anything to anyone all her family would be done to death.
• The petitioner filed a petition before the Allahabad High Court to quash the proceedings.
• Dismissing the petition, the High Court did not find it a fit case to grant relief to the accused.

What were the Court’s Observations?

• A bench of Justices JJ Munir and Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal observed that the Act of 2021 is a new statute which has been enacted by the legislature to curtail a prevailing malady in society. If there is frequent interference with prosecutions at the initial stage under the Act of 2021, the legislation which is still young and designed to curtail mischief in society that is rife it would be bogged down and fail to achieve its purpose.
• The Court further emphasized that such interferences, especially at the initial stages of legal proceedings, could undermine the effectiveness of the law.

What are the Relevant Legal Provisions Related to Religious Conversions?

About Religious Conversions:

• Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others.
• It would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another.
• In some cases, religious conversion marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals.

Status of Anti-Conversion Laws in India:

• Constitutional Provision:
  • The Constitution of India, 1950 (COI) under Article 25 guarantees the freedom to profess, propagate, and practice religion, and allows all religious sections to manage their own affairs in matters of religion, subject to public order, morality, and health.
  • However, no person shall force their religious beliefs and consequently, no person should be forced to practice any religion against their wishes.
• Existing Laws:
  • There has been no central legislation restricting or regulating religious conversions.
  • However, since 1954, on multiple occasions, Private Member Bills have been introduced in (but never approved by) Parliament, to regulate religious conversions.
  • Further, in 2015, the Union Law Ministry stated that Parliament does not have the legislative competence to pass anti-conversion legislation.
• Anti-Conversion Laws in Various States:
  • Over the years, several states have enacted legislation to restrict religious conversions carried out by force, fraud, or inducements.
  • Several states in India, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Uttarakhand have implemented anti-conversion laws.

Supreme Court on Conversion:

• Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 1977- The Supreme Court held that Article 25 of the COI does not grant the right to convert other persons to one’s own religion but to transmit or spread one’s religion by an exposition of its tenets.
• Hadiya Case (Shafin Jahan v Ashokan K.M.), 2017 – The Supreme Court held that matters of dress and of food, of ideas and ideologies, of love and partnership are within the central aspects of identity. It was also held that the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to Article 21.

What is Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021?

About the Act:

• In the year 2021, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed this Act which replaced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated in November 2020.
• The Uttar Pradesh State Assembly cleared the ordinance on 24 November 2020 following which it was approved and signed by State Governor Anandiben Patel on 28 November 2020.
• Applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh, it is an anti-conversion law enacted by the Government of U.P.
• This Act provides for prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage.

Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020:

• It makes religious conversion for marriage a non-bailable offence and the onus will be on the defendant to prove that conversion was not for marriage.
• The notice period to the District Magistrate for the religious conversion is two months.
• In case of conversion done by a woman for the sole purpose of marriage, the marriage would be declared null and void.
• Violation of the provisions of the law would invite a jail term of not less than one year extendable to five years with a fine of Rs. 15,000.
• If a minor woman or a woman from the Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) converts, the jail term would be a minimum of three years and could be extended to 10 years with a fine of Rs. 25,000.
• The ordinance also lays down strict action, including cancellation of registration of social organisations conducting mass conversions, which would invite a jail term of not less than three years and up to 10 years and a fine of Rs. 50,000.