The Allahabad High Court on Monday while denying bail to a person accused of carrying out mass religious conversions of people from a village in Uttar Pradesh to Christianity observed that if religious congregations where conversions take place are not stopped in India, then the country's majority would become the minority one day. The high court also observed that the court has seen several cases where unlawful activity of conversion of people of SC/ST castes and other castes including economically poor persons into Christianity is being done at rampant pace throughout the State of Uttar Pradesh.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal was hearing a case where brother of one of the complainant went missing and never returned to the village after the accused took him to a religious congregation held in New Delhi. Several others from the same village had filed similar complaints.
"If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in minority one day, and such religious congregation should be immediately stopped where the conversion is taking place and changing religion of citizen of India," the judge observed in his order.
He further said that it is against the Constitutional mandate of Article 25 of the Constitution of India which does not provide for religious conversion, it only provides freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.
"The word "Propagation" means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion. In the instant case, there are serious allegations against the applicant by the informant that her brother was taken away from the village to attend the gathering of well-being at New Delhi and along with him number of persons from the said village were also taken there, and they are being converted into Christianity," the court said while reading down provisions of Article 25 (Right to Freedom of Religion).
The court was informed by the investigating officer and other witnesses that the accused had been taking away people to attend the religious congregation held at New Delhi, where they are being converted into Christianity.