Allahabad High Court Flags Conversions, Asks to Stop Religious Congregations for Conversions

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court said that religious congregations where conversions are taking place must be stopped. According to the High Court, the country’s “majority population would be in minority” if such gatherings are allowed.

The Allahabad High Court made this remark while hearing the bail petition of Kailash, who has been accused of taking people from Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh to a gathering in Delhi for conversions.

The FIR says that many people from the Hamirpur village were taken to the Delhi gathering and converted to Christianity. Kailash was arrested under charges of kidnapping and provisions of UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

Kailash’s counsel Saket Jaiswal said Ramphal was not converted to Christianity and had only attended a Christian gathering. “It was Sonu Paster who was holding such gathering, and he has already been enlarged on bail,” he argued.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said in his order that Article 25 of the Constitution provides for freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, but 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 order says.

“If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in minority one day, and such religious congregation should be immediately stopped where the conversion is taking place and changing religion of citizen of India,” the court said, while denying bail to Kailash.