LUCKNOW: Taking note of a “disturbing trend” of young minds allegedly “thrusting” their religion or belief upon others, the Allahabad High Court refused to quash an FIR lodged against two Class XII students booked under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The students have been accused of forcing their classmate to wear a burqa and attempting to convert her to Islam, with the incident said to have taken place in Moradabad in December last year.
In its 11-page order, a division bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena noted the “disturbing trend” among young people “thrusting” their religion or belief upon others, a tendency sought to be curbed by the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
“If this kind of a trend comes to be seen amongst young people, it is all the more disturbing. This is time in their lives when they should be thinking more towards developing their skills in different fields of education and dedicate themselves in the service of the society and the nation,” the court observed.
The bench added that the material collected during the investigation prima facie disclosed a case which required thorough investigation.
The court also noted that the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 was enacted to curtail an emergent mischief and could not be subverted by snuffing out prosecutions brought on tangible material at the threshold.
It may be recalled that an FIR was lodged by the brother of the alleged victim, a Class XII student in Moradabad, alleging that his sister was being compelled by her five Muslim classmates, including the petitioners Aleena and Shabiya, both majors, at a local tuition centre to wear a veil (burqa) and accept Islam.
In her statements recorded under Sections 180 and 183 of the BNSS, the victim referred to a specific incident from December 2025, wherein the five girls allegedly brought a veil and made her wear it forcefully.
The victim further alleged that those classmates would bring non-vegetarian food and allure her to eat the gravy when she refused the meat. She also alleged that one of them, Aleena, brainwashed her to the extent that she lost her ability to think.
It was further alleged that they repeatedly told her that their religion was good, that the Holy Quran could be read in 40 days, and that wearing a burqa offered the freedom to go anywhere.
Counsel for the accused-petitioner Shabiya argued that the impugned FIR carried general and omnibus allegations of conversion against the petitioner.
It was submitted that the FIR was a counterblast to a complaint made by Aleena against the informant, who had allegedly been stalking and harassing her.
It was further pointed out that the petitioner was an 18-year-old student preparing for her Class XII examinations and was unable to concentrate on her studies due to the distraction caused by the FIR.
Lastly, it was submitted that the thrust of the allegations was against co-accused who had not pressed the petition, and not specifically against the petitioner in this matter.
Against this backdrop, the bench noted that in the case diary, the victim was caught on CCTV footage in an alley, where she was allegedly seen being forced to wear the veil (burqa) by the petitioner and the other co-accused.
The court also found that the case diary contained “lots of material” collected during the investigation which prima facie disclosed a case requiring thorough investigation.
The court added that whether the petitioners’ acts amounted to allurement or undue influence as punishable under the 2021 Act was a question premature to be examined in a petition seeking quashing of the FIR.
In the totality of the circumstances, the court refused to quash the impugned FIR. The interim order passed in favour of the accused Shabiya was also vacated by the bench.
