Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, has quashed a false case filed under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, calling it “vexatious” and a misuse of law. The bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Babita Rani also imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 on the State government for wrongfully keeping one of the accused in jail despite the victim’s statement clearing them.
The case was based on an FIR registered at Matera police station in Bahraich by one Pankaj Kumar Verma, who alleged that his wife, Vandana Verma, had been lured away by men linked to a “religious conversion gang.” However, Vandana appeared before the court and categorically stated that she had left her husband due to repeated physical abuse and had not been forced into conversion.
The court noted that her statement under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was recorded on September 19, 2025, yet the police failed to act and continued to detain the accused. The bench said the authorities “scrambled to score brownie points” without verifying the facts.
Referring to Supreme Court precedents, including Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar (2014) and Satender Kumar Antil vs. CBI (2022), the court reaffirmed that arrests should not be made when the maximum punishment is under seven years unless justified.
The court ordered the petitioner’s immediate release, directing Rs 50,000 be paid to him and Rs 25,000 deposited with the Legal Aid Services. The ruling emphasized the judiciary’s duty to prevent the abuse of criminal law under the guise of religious conversion cases.
