Allahabad High Court grants bail to man charged under UP's anti-conversion law

The Allahabad High Court noted that the woman applicant was a "willful and active participant" in all actions faced by her during the four years of her relationship with the accused and got aware about her rights only after the anti-conversion ordinance came into force.

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a man from Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district who was charged for rape, abduction, and unlawful religious conversion under the state's new anti-conversion law. A single-judge bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi noted the woman applicant and the accused were in a relationship for over four years when the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, was not in place. The bench also noted that till date, the woman has not been converted to another religion and hence, the provisions of Section 12 of the Ordinance do not apply to the case. "All of a sudden, after coming this Ordinance into existence, she got aware about her rights. Her mental thinking exposes about her conduct. She was a willful and active participant in all actions faced by her during last four years," the bench said.