The Supreme Court on Friday expunged a controversial remark made by the Allahabad High Court regarding religious conversions, while simultaneously granting bail to Kailash, a man detained under charges of unlawful religious conversion. The remark in question, which suggested that the majority population of India could become a minority due to religious conversions at specific congregations, was deemed unrelated and unnecessary for the resolution of the case by the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Misra, presiding over the matter, emphasized that the observations made by the High Court had no relevance to the specifics of the case at hand, which involved allegations of Kailash leading individuals from Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, to a congregation in Delhi for conversion purposes. The Supreme Court’s order highlighted that such general observations should not influence the factual assessment of individual cases and should not be cited in future legal proceedings.
The High Court’s earlier denial of bail on July 2 was based on the assertion that such religious conversions contradicted the constitutional provision of “freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion.” It further noted a trend in the state of Uttar Pradesh where, according to the High Court, conversions, particularly among economically disadvantaged groups and those from SC/ST communities, were occurring at an alarming rate.
