Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court granted bail to four accused in the Uttar Pradesh Mass Religious Conversion Racket case last week. The case concerns mass religious conversions within the State of Uttar Pradesh from Hindu religion to Islam. The prosecution has alleged that the accused have received huge funds to execute such “anti-national” activities which constitutes an offence under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The accused were charged u/s 120B, 153A, 153B, 295A, 417, 298, 121A and 123 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and u/s 3/5/8 of UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
The court’s Division Bench, comprising Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I, set aside the NIA Court’s order refusing bail to the four accused – Dheeraj Govind Rao Jagtap, Kausar Alam, Bhupriya Bando @ Arsalan Mustafa and Adam @ Prasad Rameshwar Kaware – on account that the apex court has granted bail to their co-accused Irfan Khan @ Irfan Shaikh and Abdullah Umar. The court also noted that another bench of the Allahabad High Court granted bail to two other co-accused, Dr Faraz Shah and Kaleem Siddiqui, in this case, vide orders dated March 2 and April 5, 2023.
The Allahabad High Court noted that while granting bail to co-accused Abdullah Umar, the Supreme Court said, “having regard to the fact that the charges have been framed, we do not think that the appellant is required to be kept in detention pending trial.” The court said that the case of the accused-appellants is on a similar footing as the charges against them have also been framed. Thus, the court set aside the NIA Court’s order denying bail to the accused.
The court granted bail to the four accused on furnishing a bail bond with two sureties each. The court further imposed certain conditions including that the accused shall not seek adjournment on dates fixed for evidence. The court further directed that the accused shall remain present before the trial court, either in person or through counsel, on each date fixed for the hearing. The court also directed that the accused appear before the concerned court in person on dates fixed for (i) opening of the case, (ii) framing of charge and (iii) recording of statement.
The court further said that if the accused is found engaging in the promotion of anti-social activities, the state could move an application seeking cancellation of their bail. The court further directed that the accused shall mark their attendance before the nearby police station in the first week of every month and that they shall keep police apprised of their whereabouts. The court further said that the accused should not enter the State of UP till the pendency of the trial, except for attending the proceedings.
Using Psychological Pressure for Religious Conversion
The case concerns mass religious conversions within the State of Uttar Pradesh from Hindu religion to Islam through illicit means. In 2021, the UP ATS busted the alleged illegal conversion racket running under the guidance of co-accused Kaleem Siddiqui and Mohammad Umar Gautam, allegedly using psychological pressure for forceful conversions, as part of their plan to set up an Islamic state and received funding from different countries to carry out mass conversions.
Kaleem Siddiqui is a famous cleric in the Western UP region and the chairman of the Global Peace Center. He also ran the Jamia Imam Waliullah Trust, which he allegedly used to convert people from other religions to Islam. Kaleem Siddiqui, a Zakat Foundation member, in an interview with a Saudi Arabian channel, claimed that Hindus must be converted to Islam because if they don’t, they would burn in hell.
In his interview, he projects the religious conversion of Hindus as an act of kindness and mocked Hindus referring to deceased people as ‘swargiya’ or ‘in heaven.’ He mocked Hindus for using ‘swargiya’ for deceased people while claiming to know that Hindus go to hell. Kaleem Siddiqui said, in his interview, “Logic won’t work in converting people to Islam. The only thing that works is the lure of Jannat and the fear of Hell. Brags how he used these methods to create so many Daais – who convert other Hindus.”
ADG Prashant Kumar led the team for Siddiqui’s arrest. He alleged that Kaleem Siddiqui had links with a large-scale illegal conversion racket and that he not only performed conversions but also gave money to madrassas for the purpose of illegal conversions. He further alleged that Siddiqui’s trust receives money from abroad to facilitate conversions and that the police have found that about Rs 3 lakh crore were received from foreign countries in his trust.
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