A court in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh has delivered a scathing rebuke to local police for fabricating a case of religious conversion against two Hindu men. The verdict, which came to light recently, has exposed serious misconduct by law enforcement and highlighted concerns about the misuse of anti-conversion laws in India's most populous state.
Additional Sessions Judge Gyanendra Tripathi acquitted Abhishek Gupta and Kundan Lal Kori of charges under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The men had been accused of attempting to convert Hindus to Christianity during a prayer meeting in May 2022.
In his 27-page ruling, Judge Tripathi declared the First Information Report (FIR) against the accused "null and ineffective". He criticised police for lodging the case "under some pressure" based on a complaint that was "baseless, unfounded, fabricated and fantastical".
The complaint was filed by Himanshu Patel, who describes himself on social media as an activist with the Hindu Jagran Manch Yuva Vahini, a right-wing Hindu organisation. The court found that Patel had no legal standing to lodge such a complaint, as he was neither a victim of unlawful conversion nor related to any alleged victims.
Judge Tripathi ordered the Senior Superintendent of Police in Bareilly to take "appropriate legal action" against several officers involved in the case. These include the then Station House Officer, two investigating officers, and the Circle Officer (Deputy Superintendent of Police) who approved the charge sheet.
The court's judgement revealed a series of disturbing irregularities in the police investigation. Gupta was allegedly arrested on 29 May 2022, before the FIR was even registered. However, police records falsely claimed he was arrested on 7 October 2022, suggesting he had been held in illegal detention for over four months.
The prosecution failed to produce any individuals who had allegedly been converted by the accused. The court also deemed the supposed recovery of a Bible from Gupta as "completely suspicious".
Abhishek Gupta, who had worked as a CT scan technician at Rohilkhand Medical College in Bareilly since 2007, lost his job following his arrest. Speaking to The Wire, who first broke the story, Gupta described the severe impact on his family, including his young daughter's trauma-induced loss of speech.
In a remarkable move, the court granted the acquitted men the option to file a civil suit against the police officers, complainant, and witnesses involved, seeking compensation for malicious prosecution.
Judge Tripathi expressed deep concern over the case's implications for civil society. He criticised how easily individuals could instigate criminal proceedings against others for personal interests, highlighting the potential for abuse of the legal system.
The verdict raises serious questions about the implementation of Uttar Pradesh's anti-conversion law, which has been criticised by several human rights groups for its potential to target religious minorities. It has been previously reported as to how Section 4 of the 2021 Act, which specifies who can file complaints, was not being properly enforced, allowing third-party activists and police officers to lodge FIRs at their discretion.
Things are set to further deteriorate given the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which enables any person to file a complaint with the police to report forced and fraudulent conversions. Human Rights groups say that this amendment will be misused by extremist groups to harass and intimidate religious minorities.
