The Allahabad High Court in the case Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Home Deptt. Lko. And 2 Others observed and has granted bail to Islamic scholar Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qasmi who was being arrested in the year 2021 in June by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh Police on the charges of conspiring to run a mass religious conversion racket in the State and has assisted in religious conversion of over 1000 people across the state.
The bench comprising of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I in the case observed and has granted him the relief wherein the court noted that that in the same case, bail has been granted to as many as 12 accused and many of whom have similar roles as that of the appellant herein and two of the bails have been granted by Supreme Court.
The bench in the case took note of the similar judgment which is passed by the said Bench in August 2023 to Mohammad Umar Gautam.
In the present case, Qasmi had moved the High Court by way of filing a criminal Appeal under Section 21(4) of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 wherein challenging the October 2023 order passed by the Special Judge, NIA/ATS, Lucknow in the Second Bail Application which was rejected by the said court in the matter.
Therefore, Qasmi, who has been booked under Section 417, Section 120-B, Section 153-A, Section 153-B, Section 295-A, Section 298, Section 121-A, Section 123 of the Indian Penal Code, IPC and Section 3, Section 5 and Section 8 of U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, was denied bail by an NIA Court.
The court in the case observed that any person in India is free to follow any religion of his own free will, but no person has the right to do any illegal work to humiliate a person of another religion or to create hatred and jealousy etc. with regards to one religion among the followers of another religion, thus, the same has been contrary to the intention of the Indian Constitution and this type of work has been prohibited.
The High Court in the case noted that after the rejection of the first bail application of the accused, an appeal was preferred before the High Court and the same was dismissed.
Further, the matter was taken in the interregnum, co-accused were granted bail.
The court in the case underscored that based on the ground of parity, thus, the second bail application was filed, but, the Court below did not consider the matter appropriately and had rejected the second bail application cursorily ignoring the earlier orders passed by the High Court and Supreme Court. The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has allowed the criminal appeal which being on the ground that the accused shall not communicate or try to communicate with any of the witnesses or alleged victims or try to influence them otherwise and he will not leave the country without the permission of the Trial Court and will also present himself before the Investigation Officer of Police Station ATS, Lucknow in the third week of every month and if not possible on the said date, thus, he shall positively appear by the last day of the month.
