A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar has granted anticipatory bail to madrasa operator Qari Hifz-ur-Rehman and his son, Zubair Ansari, who are accused in a religious conversion case registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act.
Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Anurag Panwar granted the relief after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence. The court also stayed the arrest of both accused while the case proceeds.
Defence Calls Allegations Baseless
Appearing for the accused, defence counsel Merajuddin argued that the allegations made in the FIR were false and motivated by an old personal rivalry.
The defence told the court that the alleged religious conversion had taken place nearly eight years ago, before the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act came into force. It argued that a law enacted later could not be applied retrospectively to an alleged incident that occurred before its implementation.
The defence also pointed out that neither the alleged convert nor the person’s guardian or any competent witness had come forward to support the prosecution’s claims.
The accused maintained that they were innocent and alleged that they had been falsely implicated by members of a Hindu organisation.
Case Registered After Complaint
The case was registered a few days ago at Ratanpuri police station in Muzaffarnagar after members of a Hindu organisation accused Qari Hifz-ur-Rehman and Zubair Ansari of carrying out unlawful religious conversions.
Based on the complaint, the Uttar Pradesh Police booked the two under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act and other relevant legal provisions.
Fearing arrest, both accused approached the court seeking anticipatory bail.
Court Grants Interim Relief
After considering the submissions and documents placed before it, the special court observed that the allegations against the accused did not appear strong at first sight and granted anticipatory bail.
