Illegal conversion case: SC grants relief to UP university head

New Delhi: In a case of alleged illegal religious conversions in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, the Supreme Court of India quashed an FIR and criminal proceedings against the director of a state university on Friday. The case, where the Director of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Vinod Bihari Lal, was accused of large-scale illegal religious conversions, was accused of receiving around 34.5 crores from foreign sources, which the accused used for religious conversions, India Today reported.

The court noted that the continuation of Vinod’s trial would be an abuse of law. The court is convinced that the continuation of the special trial arising out of the FIR registered in Naini will be nothing but an abuse of the process of law.

Quashing the FIR, the non-bailable warrants and all associated criminal processes, the court stressed that the said proceedings lack substantive legal backing. Thus, the court provided complete relief to the accused, halting any further proceedings related to the FIR.

The top court reminded authorities to stick to specific operational guidelines already in place.

Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had upheld the charges in the FIR, refusing to grant Vinod relief.