Bureau Prayagraj- The Allahabad High Court recently expressed concern over the “disturbing trend” of false cases being filed by third parties under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Religious Conversion Act, 2021. [मोहम्मद फैजान और अन्य बनाम यूपी राज्य और अन्य]The division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava said this in a case in which three Muslim men were booked under the Anti-Conversion Act of 2021.

The alleged victim, in a statement, denied claims that she was being “wooed” by one of the accused. Instead, she claimed that she loved him, and that she feared harassment from his relatives and third-parties. The Court said, “The statement of the victim in contrast to the allegations made in the FIR gives rise to a disturbing trend which the Court has repeatedly observed in relation to FIRs being lodged by third-parties under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.”

The court has now directed the state government to file an affidavit explaining the action being taken to deal with this trend. The court ordered, “The Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of the UP government will also file his personal affidavit, in which it will be told what action is being taken in such cases, where FIRs are being registered here and there under the provisions of the Act 2021 and after that the FIRs are clearly found to be false, which will help the authorities. Precious time is being wasted in registering FIRs which have no basis.”

The court said that if the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) is unable to file the affidavit before May 19, then he will have to appear in person with the records to assist the court. It was hearing a petition seeking quashing of the FIR registered by Kotwali Nagar police station in Bahraich district under different provisions of the Indian Code of Justice (BNS) and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

The case was registered on the complaint of a man who alleged that his daughter was eloped by a Muslim man with the help of two other people. The complainant said that there is every possibility that the accused is trying to change his daughter’s religion and force her to marry a Muslim man. However, the court found that the alleged victim has said in her statement before the magistrate that she is an adult and has been in love with the man for the last three years.

The court wrote in the order, “She has further stated that her religion has not been changed, neither has the petitioner married her nor has had physical relations with her, nor has petitioner No. 3 or his relatives forced the victim to change her religion. She has further stated that she wants to live with petitioner No. 3 and her religion has not been changed. She has also requested in her statement that the members of the Hindu Organization should Don’t disturb his relatives.”

The court said that, prima facie, the investigating officer was acting under duress or was ‘persuaded’ by some other reason. The court noted the trend of registering such cases by third parties. The bench said, “This is a disturbing trend which has now spread in the society and which has also been pointed out by the Honorable Supreme Court in the case of Rajendra Bihari Lal vs. State of U.P. & Ors.: 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2265.”