The Supreme Court granted bail to a university vice chancellor who was charged in religious conversion cases. The bail was provided amid concerns of excessive interest from the Uttar Pradesh police in the matter.
New Delhi: On Monday (1st April), the Supreme Court of India upheld its interim order granting bail to Rajendra Bihari Lal, the vice chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS) in Uttar Pradesh. The bail pertains to two criminal cases, including alleged illegal religious conversions.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud,
He questioned the delay in the Allahabad High Court’s hearing on Lal’s bail application, emphasizing the importance of personal liberty for the accused. The bail was provided in connection with two FIRs registered at Nawabganj and Naini police stations in Prayagraj.
The Chief Justice stated,
“We are confirming the interim bail order passed by us on March 4,” while adding that Lal must cooperate with the police during the ongoing investigation in one of the FIRs.
The court also noted its observation that the state police appeared to be taking extra interest in the case. The state government’s plea to recall the March 4 interim bail order based on alleged suppression of facts was denied by the court.
“We also felt that the state (police) is taking extra interest in this case,” the CJI orally observed while refusing to allow a separate plea of the state government that the March 4 order granting interim bail to the accused be recalled on the ground of suppression of certain facts.
Background
Lal was arrested on December 31, 2023, in one of the cases, and his bail plea had not been heard in the High court for a considerable time. The bench emphasized that the charge sheet had been filed in one of the two cases following the completion of the investigation.
The charges against Lal include offenses under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 504 (intentional insult with an aim to provoke breach of peace), and 386 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code. He is also booked under certain provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Lal, argued that the petitioner was arrested despite an order from the apex court. The Uttar Pradesh Police had previously informed the Supreme Court that Lal and other accused individuals were the main perpetrators of a mass religious conversion program involving foreign funds from approximately 20 countries.
The police complaint alleged that around 90 Hindus gathered at the Evangelical Church of India in Hariharganj, Fatehpur, to convert to Christianity. It was further claimed that they were subjected to undue influence, coercion, fraud, and the promise of easy money.
