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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed the appeal moved by Mohammad Umar Gautam in nationwide illegal religious conversion racket case. Gautam had filed an appeal against the decsion of the Special NIA/ATS court which had rejected his bail application in May this year. 

The bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav observed that after perusing the record, it appeared that from the act and conduct of Gautam, it could not be said that he was innocent. 

Court noted that evidence and investigation reflected that Umar Gautam was carrying on anti-national activities with the help of anti-social elements for achieving a nefarious design to weaken the country.

"Umar Gautam was running the Examination Centre of Islamic Online University which is actually run by Islamic Religious Orator Bilal Philistinee, who is banned in UK, Australia and Denmark because of his terrorist activities at Islamic Dawah Centre(IDC)," Court stated. 

Therefore, while also taking into consideration the submission made by the state counsel that if Gautam is released on bail, there is every likelihood that he would again indulge in such activities, Court rejected the appeal and affirming the order of the NIA court. 

Gautam, who himself converted to Islam from the Hindu faith, ran Islamic Dawah Centre in Delhi, an organisation for deaf and mute students which was allegedly involved in illegal religious conversion operations.

He along with one other Muslim cleric was arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad on June 20, 2021 on 'forced religious conversion' charges. 

Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), UP, Lucknow, alleged that evidences were there proving that the racket which was primarily run by Gautam had an aim of establishing a ‘Shariyat’ led government instead of a constitutionally established one by overturning the religious population balance of India for which series of mass conversions were being done under an organic mechanism.

ATS also informed that for the operation of this syndicate, a huge amount of funding had also been done from abroad, for which strong evidences were found.

In a press release, ATS stated: "Umar Gautam and his associates were funded by the UK based organization Al-falah Trust through hawala and other means, the details of which the above accused could not provide.”

As per ATS, under this conversion racket, poor, women, handicapped, especially deaf and mute were being forced to convert against their will by intimidating them and putting them under illegitimate pressure etc., in a malicious manner.

Through the present order, the high court also denied bail to four other co-accused in the case. 

Case Title: Md. Umar Gautam v. State Of UP