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Synopsis

An Indore sessions court in Madhya Pradesh has sentenced two Muslim men and a woman to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for forcibly converting a 3-year-old Jain boy's religion without the consent of his biological father and fraudulently changing his identity in official records.

Iliyas Ahmed, Mohd Zafar Ali, and Prarthana Shivhare have been convicted and sentenced under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using forged documents as genuine) and Section 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020.

According to the prosecution, the minor boy, born to Mahesh Nahata and his wife Prarthana in 2015, was taken away by Prarthana in 2018 after she eloped with Iliyas Ahmed. The child’s name was later changed in official documents, falsely listing Iliyas as his father. His religious identity was altered, and he was forcibly circumcised. The prosecution further alleged that school admission forms, birth certificates, and guardian documents were forged to support the fabricated identity.

The victim’s biological father, Mahesh Nahata, searched for his son and wife, but it wasn’t until 2023 that he found out that they were living at Khajrana and then a case was filed under MP’s anti-forced conversion law, leading to the arrest and trial of the accused.

During the trial, documentary evidence and testimonies established that the accused had fraudulently altered government records.

Additional Sessions Judge Jitendra Singh Kushwaha noted that the boy’s name was illegally changed in school records, forgery of birth certificate and school admission documents was carried out to list Iliyas as the boy's father and the mother, Prarthana, actively participated in the religious conversion process.

Court also held that it was Zafar Ali who helped Ahmed forge the boy's Aadhaar Card and birth certificate.

Case Title: Iliyas Ahmed and Others Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh