By Scroll Staff
The Allahabad High Court has expressed concern about a “disturbing trend” of false first information reports being registered by third parties under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.
A division bench of Justices Abdul Moin and Pramod Kumar Srivastava was hearing a petition challenging an FIR registered against three Muslim men under the 2021 Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
The FIR, filed by the father of an 18-year-old woman, alleged that one of the men had “enticed” his daughter. He claimed that there was a likelihood that the men would attempt to convert her religion and force her into marriage.
The three men also faced charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
However, the woman in a statement recorded before a magistrate denied claims made by her father, Bar and Bench reported. She added that she was in a consensual relationship with one of the accused men, adding that she had not been coerced into conversion or marriage.
The woman also expressed willingness to live with the man and further raised concerns about harassment from Hindutva groups, Live Law reported.
On Monday, the court said that the “statement of the victim vis-a-vis the allegations as levelled in the FIR gives rise to a disturbing trend which is being noticed time and again by the courts of law pertaining to FIRs being lodged by third parties” under the state’s anti-conversion law.
The bench noted that the statement submitted by the woman indicates that she is apprehensive of her safety and the safety of her relatives, adding that she is also “apprehensive of being harassed and troubled by the various organisations”.
The court noted that despite her statement, the investigating officer had dropped only allegations of rape against the petitioner and continued proceedings under the anti-conversion law, The Hindu reported.
It described this as a “peculiar turn” and said that further investigation appeared unwarranted given the woman’s clear account. The bench also indicated that the conduct of the investigating officer suggested that he may be acting under pressure or external influence.
In its order, the court directed the state’s additional chief secretary (home) to file a personal affidavit on the steps being taken to address such “false” cases.
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