Religious Conversion Case | Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to SHUATS University VC

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the UP government on his plea challenging the Allahabad High Court. The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier told the apex court that Lal and other accused are the ‘main perpetrators’ of a mass religious conversion programme which involves foreign funds from about 20 countries.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court granted interim bail Today (March 4) to Rajendra Bihari Lal, the Vice Chancellor of Uttar Pradesh’s Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), in a case concerning alleged illegal religious conversion.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued a notice to the UP government regarding Lal’s plea challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision. Notably, Lal has been in custody since December 31 of the previous year.

The apex court observed that the high court has not yet entertained Lal’s bail plea. In response, the bench stated,

“Issue notice, in the meantime, by way of ad interim order, we grant interim bail to the petitioner.”

Furthermore, the court specified that the bail bond should not exceed Rs 25,000.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Lal, highlighted that despite the Supreme Court’s directive, Lal was arrested.

The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier informed the apex court that Lal and other accused individuals were the “main perpetrators” of a large-scale religious conversion program involving foreign funding from approximately 20 countries. According to the police, Vinod Bihari Lal, another accused in the case, has a criminal record, being involved in 38 cases of various natures, including cheating and murder, across the state over the last two decades.

An FIR was registered against Lal and others under the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The police complaint alleged that around 90 Hindus gathered at the Evangelical Church of India in Hariharganj, Fatehpur, with the intention of converting to Christianity, purportedly under undue influence, coercion, and fraudulent promises of easy money.

CLICK HERE TO READ PREVIOUS REPORT ON THE CASE

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