Giving Bible not ploy to convert, rules HC

Lucknow: Distributing the Holy Bible and imparting good teachings cannot be termed as an “allurement for religious conversion” under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, the Allahabad high court said.

The high court’s Lucknow bench also said a stranger cannot lodge FIRs under the act and granted bail to two accused booked for allegedly luring people from the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe communities for conversion to Christianity.

A bench of Justice Shamim Ahmad passed the order allowing an appeal against the rejection of bail pleas of Jose Papachen and Sheeja.

The appellants were sent to jail after the police registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary in Ambedkar Nagar district on January 24.

The BJP leader had alleged that the two accused were luring people from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities for converting to Christianity.

Justice Ahmad observed, “Providing teaching, distributing Holy Bible, encouraging children for getting education, organising assembly of villagers and performing bhandara, instructing the villagers not to enter into altercation and not to take liquor do not amount to allurement under the 2021 act.”