Majority Population Will End Up As Minority If Conversions Are Not Stopped: Allahabad HC

The majority population will end up becoming minority someday if unlawful activity of conversion of people of SC/ST caste and other castes are not stopped, the Allahabad High Court said on Tuesday.

A bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said: "...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 conversion is taking place and changing the religion of citizen of India...It has come to the notice of this Court in several cases that unlawful activity of conversion of people of SC/ST caste and other castes including economically poor persons into Christianity is being done at rampant pace throughout Uttar Pradesh."

The Court also added that such conversions are against the Constitutional mandate of Article 25 of the Constitution of India, "which does not provide for religious conversion" but provides "only freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion".

"Article 25 of the Constitution of India provides for Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, but it does not provide for conversion from one faith to another faith...The word 'Propagation' means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion," the Court said.

These remarks were made by the court while denying a bail plea from Kailash, who was charged by UP Police under Section 365 IPC and Section 3/5(1) of the U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. He was accused of taking villagers to a social gathering in Delhi where he facilitated their conversion to Christianity.

The Court noted that such conversions violate the Constitutional mandate of Article 25 of the Constitution of India, which does not allow for religious conversion but rather ensures freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion.