The Allahabad High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of a person from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar city under the state’s new anti-convers...
The Allahabad High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of a person from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar city under the state’s new anti-conversion law, reported The Indian Express. The court noted that the couple involved were adults with “a fundamental right to privacy”.
Nadeem, 32, and his brother Salman, were named in a complaint filed in the matter by Akshay Kumar Tyagi, the woman’s husband, reported NDTV. They were among the first people to be booked under the new law. Tyagi accused Nadeem of wanting to marry his wife and coercing her to convert her religion. He alleged that Nadeem used to frequent his house, and had gifted his wife a smartphone to woo her.
Following the complaint, Nadeem was booked under various charges, including Sections 3/5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020. The law, which was passed last month by the Adityanath government, is aimed at tackling “love jihad” – a conspiracy theory espoused by right-wing Hindutva activists, alleging that Hindu women are forcibly converted by Muslims through marriage.
Nadeem had, however, not been arrested in the case, and had filed a petition to scrap the first information report naming him.
While hearing the petition on Friday, a bench of Justices...
