HC quashes FIR against 5 booked for illegal conversion in UP, says state authorities ‘scrambling to score brownie points’

The court also stated that the State was free to take action against erring officials.

The five persons had approached the High Court, seeking quashing of the FIR after they were booked by the police on a complaint by a man, alleging that they were running a “conversion racket”.

The case dates back to September this year, when a man in Bahraich filed a complaint with the police that his wife had left home, taking jewellery and cash.

The case was initially filed under charges of kidnapping or abducting for murder or ransom.

When the woman found out about the FIR, she returned home. She initially recorded her statement under BNSS Section 180, following which the police added charges of criminal breach of trust, stolen property, and Section 3(1)(5) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

One of the five accused was subsequently arrested on September 18.

As per the court records and the lawyers, it was alleged that the woman had left at the instigation of the accused, who were “involved in religious conversions”.

However, on September 19, the woman recorded another statement (under BNSS Section 183), stating that she had left her home voluntarily due to regular domestic abuse by her husband. In her new statement, she did not allege any religious conversion and returned all her jewellery to the police.

Her lawyer, later in the High Court, also claimed that her earlier statement was made under threats and coercion from her husband and in-laws.

Noting this, the High Court observed, “From the statement of the (woman) respondent no. 5 (dated 19.09.2025), it is apparent that she… went on her own accord to see her daughter in Delhi and returned. Thus, the offence as per BNS Section 140 is clearly not made out.”

“However, it is not understood that when she gave a statement under Section 183 of BNSS… from which it emerges that none of the offences as prescribed under the Act of 2021 or Sections 140, 316(2) and 317(2) of BNS are said to have been committed by the petitioners, as to why corrective action was not taken by the authorities on their own accord,” the court said in the order.

It also noted that the FIR was lodged without any offence being committed by the petitioners. “It is thus apparent that a false FIR has been lodged by the woman’s husband under the anti-conversion law… However, the said course of action was also not resorted to by the authorities for reasons best known, and one of the petitioners continuing to languish in jail even at the time of dictating this order,” it said.

“The court, having gone through the entire records… proceeds to exercise powers vested in it under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to quash the FIR and all consequential proceedings,” it added.

Imposing a cost of Rs 75,000 on the State, of which Rs 50,000 is to be paid to the petitioner and the remaining Rs 25,000 to be deposited with the Legal Aid Services of the court, the court said: “This petition is a glaring example of the State Authorities falling and scrambling over each other in order to score brownie points on the basis of the FIR which has been lodged by the respondent no.4 (the woman’s husband).”