Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has said that giving someone a Bible or speaking about a religion does not amount to a crime under the Uttar Pradesh anti conversion law. The court gave this decision while hearing a case in which a group of people were accused of attempting religious conversion by distributing Bibles and using a screen to share messages about Christianity.
The judges noted that the police had filed the case without any complaint from a person claiming they were forced or pressured to change religion. The court said that under the law, a case can be registered only when someone reports that they were forced, threatened or offered money or other benefits to convert.
The bench described the police action as unusual and questioned why an FIR was filed when no affected person came forward. The court said that sharing religious books or talking about a faith is protected under Article 25 of the Constitution, which gives every citizen the freedom to practice and spread their religion peacefully.
The judges also reminded that the law is meant to stop forced or fraudulent conversions, not peaceful religious activities. They said that having a Bible or using a screen to talk about religion does not prove any attempt at illegal conversion.
The ruling is seen as an important clarification on how the state’s anti conversion law should be applied. Human rights groups and legal observers say it may reduce unnecessary arrests in similar cases.
The state government has not yet responded to the court’s decision.