The Allahabad High Court has observed that distributing Holy Bible books, performing Bhandara, and providing good teachings, do not amount to ‘allurement’ for religious conversion under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021, Live Law reported.
“…the complainant has no locus to lodge the present F.I.R. as provided under Section 4 of the Act, 2021 and there also appears force in the argument of learned counsel for the appellants that providing good teachings, distributing Holy Bible books, encouraging children to get education, organizing assembly of villagers and performing “Bhandara” and instructing the villagers not to enter into altercation and also not to take liquor do not amount to allurement,” the bench of Justice Shamim Ahmad observed.
The High Court’s Lucknow bench stated that only a person who has been converted or his family can lodge a complaint related to forced conversion.
The court passed the order while granting bail to two persons, Jose Papachen and Sheeja, booked under the anti-conversion law.
The duo were sent to jail earlier this year after a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district filed a complaint, accusing them of luring Dalits and Adivasis to convert to Christianity.
“Providing good teachings, distributing Holy Bible books, encouraging children to get education, organising assembly of villagers and performing ‘bhandara’ [community feast] and instructing the villagers not to enter into altercation and also not to take liquor do not amount to allurement, rather it would be a failure on the part of the State to provide basic facilities to individuals in need of the same,” the duo’s counsel said.
