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Synopsis

The Gujarat High Court recently granted bail to eight men who are accused of forcing tribals for religious conversion to Islam at Amod town in the state's Bharuch district.

The bench of Justice Nikhil Kariel observed that “while there was existence of material suggesting allurement, there did not appear to be existence of any material which would suggest conversion by use of force”.

Court, however, denied bail to two other co-accused in the case who are office bearers (vice-president and president) of Baitulmal Trust, which was allegedly used for scamming the tribals. 

The allegations against the accused persons were of alluring people belonging to Scheduled Tribes in Amod by giving them various offers to convert from Hinduism to Islam, including the first informant Pravin Vasava.

While granting bail to the eight men, Court barred them from entering Bharuch until the deposition of the first informant is complete.

As per Section 3 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2003, forcible conversion from one religion to another by use of force or by allurement or by fraudulent means is prohibited and carries maximum imprisonment of 4 years.

In the present case, the First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in 2021 under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Information Technology Act. As per the FIR, alleged offences were committed from 2006 onwards.

Before the high court, the Public Prosecutor contended that there were serious allegations of allurement against the accused persons and therefore, bail ought not to be granted. He argued that the 'conversion was pre-planned conspiracy' to convert members from the Scheduled Tribes to Islam.

He further submitted that there was sufficient material collected by the Investigating Officer to establish that Aadhaar Cards were forged in pursuit of mass conversion and there was a suspicious inflow of funds to a trust which was allegedly involved in the crime. 

However, the court held that no material had been found after the investigation which would reveal that the accused persons through acts of alleged forgery of Aadhaar cards had either gained anything or had caused any corresponding loss to any person, including the State. 

Further, considering that the eight accused have been in custody for around eight months and a chargesheet has already been filed, Court concluded, "...this is a fit case where discretion could be exercised in favour of the appellants".

However, granting bail, the court imposed conditions that the eight accused cannot enter the limits of Bharuch district, except for attending the trial court, till the deposition of the first informant is over.

Case Title: YAKUBBHAI IBRAHIMBHAI SHANKER v/s STATE OF GUJARAT