UP Religious Conversion Racket: Supreme Court allows Kaleem Siddiqui to travel to his village for his brother’s funeral

On August 28, the Supreme Court of India relaxed the bail condition imposed on Islamist Kaleem Siddiqui, allowing him to leave the National Capital Region (NCR) to attend his brother’s funeral at his native village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Kaleem Siddiqui is an accused in the UP Mass Religious Conversion Racket case and a case was registered against him under the provisions of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The UP Anti-Terror Squad arrested him in September 2021.

The apex court’s three-judge bench, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose, Sanjay Kumar and SVN Bhatti, heard the urgent plea seeking permission to travel to his native village to attend his brother’s funeral, which is scheduled for today.

While granting a one-time modification to his bail condition, the Supreme Court barred the accused Islamic Scholar from participating in any political or social activities. The court said that the accused shall not participate in any activities not connected with the funeral and he shall not deliver any speeches while in Uttar Pradesh. Furthermore, the apex court directed that the accused must return to his place of residence in Delhi after the funeral.

“The main matter is pending before us with a direction that the applicant shall remain in Delhi and not enter the State of Uttar Pradesh except for attending the trial or meeting his investigating officer. The present application has been preferred seeking a one-time modification of the order, on account of his brother’s death. The funeral is to take place today itself. Considering the reason for which the applicant wants the lifting of the temporary restraint order on his entry into Uttar Pradesh, we permit him to go to his native village, which we are apprised in the course of the hearing, is Fulat, Muzaffarnagar. He will be permitted to go there for the purpose of attending the funeral and thereafter he must return to his present place of residence in Delhi. We also make it clear that the applicant shall not participate in any political or social activities while in UP, barring activities connected with the funeral, and he shall not deliver any speech while in Uttar Pradesh,” the Supreme Court said in its order.

The Supreme Court is hearing the Uttar Pradesh Government’s plea challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order granting the accused Islamic Cleric bail. The government’s counsel has argued that Kaleem Siddiqui is a key conspirator in the mass conversion racket working towards waging war against the Constitution of India and replacing it with Sharia law.

On April 5, the Allahabad High Court’s Division Bench, comprising Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Saroj Yadav, set aside the Special NIA Court’s order and enlarged accused Kaleem Siddiqui on bail. Siddiqui’s counsel submitted that two co-accused – Irfan Khan and Dr Faraz Shah – were enlarged on bail by the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court, respectively, and as Siddiqui’s case is on a similar footing, he must be released on bail as well.

However, the Uttar Pradesh Government challenged the high court’s order enlarging the accused on bail before the apex court. On May 9, the Supreme Court’s Division Bench, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, imposed certain conditions on Siddiqui’s bail while refusing the Uttar Pradesh Government’s request seeking his re-arrest.

The apex court had directed that Kaleem Siddiqui shall not leave the NCR region except for the purpose of attending the trial or for meeting the Investigating Officer. The court also directed that the accused cleric must keep a single mobile phone with a location setup open so that his location could be traced by the Investigating Officer. The court had also directed the surrender of Siddiqui’s passport.

UP Mass Religious Conversion Racket Case
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 do not, they will burn in hell.

In his interview, he projects the religious conversion of Hindus as an act of kindness and mocks 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.