The Allahabad High Court observed on Monday that if religious gatherings where conversions occur are not halted, the majority population of the country could eventually become a minority [Kailash v. State of UP].
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal made this remark while dismissing the bail plea of an accused under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The Court was informed that the informant’s brother was taken from his village to attend a gathering in Delhi aimed at “well-being”. Several villagers were also taken there with the intention of converting them to Christianity.
In response, the Court expressed concern that allowing such practices to continue could lead to the majority population becoming a minority over time.
“If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in minority one day, and such religious congregations where the conversion is taking place should be immediately stopped and changing the religion of an Indian citizen,” the Court stated.
The Court also noted that while Article 25 of the Constitution of India guarantees “freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion”, it does not specifically endorse conversion from one faith to another.
“The word ‘Propagation’ means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion,” the Court emphasized.
The Court further pointed out that there is widespread unlawful conversion activity targeting people from SC/ST and economically poor communities to Christianity in Uttar Pradesh.
Based on these observations, the Court denied bail to the accused, stating, “This Court, prima facie, finds that the applicant is not entitled to bail. Hence, the bail application of the applicant involved in the aforementioned crime is hereby rejected.”
Advocate Saket Jaiswal represented the accused, while Additional Advocate General PK Giri and Additional Government Advocate Sunil Kumar appeared for the State.
