The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the criminal trial in a Madhya Pradesh court against a person accused of forcibly converting a couple and their two children to Christianity.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took strong note of the fact that the local court proceeded with the trial despite an earlier undertaking by the counsel for Madhya Pradesh before it that nothing will happen in judicial proceedings till January 5.
The top court had on December 15, 2023 heard the plea of Christian missionary Ajai Lall challenging his prosecution in the case for the first time.
After taking note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lall, the bench had issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
“Mr Veer Vikrant Singh, counsel appearing on behalf of the State of Madhya Pradesh, states that no further steps shall be taken to pursue the trial till 5 January 2024,” the bench had noted in its order.
On Friday, Sibal told the bench that despite the assurance given by the counsel for Madhya Pradesh on December 15 the local court had proceeded with the trial.
“We will stay the further proceedings (in the trial court) till disposal of the petition (here),” the CJI said, adding the apex court was passing the order “to obviate further confusion”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, opposed the stay of trial, saying it will delay the proceedings in the case which pertained to a “very serious” issue.
During the hearing, the bench asked as to how the offence of human trafficking (under section 370 of the IPC) was applicable in the case as there was no such allegation.
Mehta said he was not defending the lower court’s decision to go ahead with the trial, but the stay of proceedings till disposal of the plea in the apex court will cause unnecessary delay.
The criminal case was filed on a complaint by NCPCR after a video of a woman who claimed that she, her husband and children were asked to convert to Christianity in exchange for money and were harassed by the petitioner when they stopped going to church went viral.
