Prayagarj: The Allahabad High Court has raised concerns over what it described as a pattern of “false, fake and frivolous” FIRs being filed under the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, in Uttar Pradesh, indicating possible misuse of the law by both the police and complainants.
A division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava made these observations on April 13 while hearing a petition filed by a Muslim man accused under the anti-conversion law.
The case had been registered by the Bahraich Police following a complaint by the father of an 18-year-old woman, Siasat Daily reported.
However, the woman’s statement reportedly contradicted the allegations in the FIR, as she told authorities that she had been in a consensual relationship with the accused for three years.
The bench noted that despite her statement before a magistrate, the investigating officer dropped the rape charge but continued to pursue allegations of kidnapping, assault, and unlawful religious conversion.
The court described this as ‘peculiar’ and suggested that further investigation appeared unwarranted in light of the woman’s clear testimony, hinting at possible external influence on the officer.
The High Court also directed the complainant, the woman’s father, to appear before it and explain why action should not be taken against him for filing a false complaint.