Lucknow. The Allahabad High Court, while hearing a case related to conversion yesterday, has given the decision of not granting bail to the Maulana who performed the Nikah. This is an eye-opener for those who do not come out in the open and promote love jihad and conversion from behind the scenes and escape by taking advantage of the loopholes in the law. The court accepted that conducting Nikah by pressuring to convert to Islam is prima facie a crime of conversion. With this comment, the High Court rejected the application for release on bail of the Maulana who performed the Nikah. Even though Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal has given this order on a particular case (the application of Maulana Mohammad Shane Alam, resident of Ankur Vihar Ghaziabad), its impact will be widespread.
The court was absolutely right in saying that the victim, who works in a company, has given a statement that Aman pressured her to convert and her Nikah was performed. The petitioner Maulana made the Nikahnama without taking permission from the District Magistrate, which is a punishable offence. Under Section 8 of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021, action can be taken against anyone for converting by force, misrepresentation, fraud, coercion and inducement. The Maulana said that he only performed the Nikah. He has no role in the conversion. The victim has said in the statement that she was physically exploited and Aman pressured her to accept Islam. Nikah was performed forcibly. The court said that the Constitution of India gives every person the fundamental right to follow and propagate his religion.
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The Constitution also guarantees religious freedom to all individuals, which reflects the social harmony and spirit of India. According to the Constitution, the state has no religion. All religions are equal before the state. No religion can be given preference over another. However, in recent times, many such examples have come to light where innocent people were converted from one religion to another through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement or fraud. This case also seems to be of the same kind. According to the Act, due to forced marriage, the petitioner will be considered a convert and he cannot be granted bail. Overall, it can be said that the effect of the law brought by the Yogi government against love jihad has started showing.
