Supreme Court stays proceedings in alleged forced conversion case involving Hindu man

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed further criminal proceedings against a Hindu man accused of forcing a family in Madhya Pradesh to convert to Islam [Hemraj Tailor v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Another]

A Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar passed the order while issuing notice on a plea filed by Hemraj Tailor (the petitioner) challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court's order refusing to quash the criminal case against him.

"Notice, returnable in six weeks. In the meantime, further proceedings emanating from the case pending before Police Station Jeerapur, District Rajgarh, shall remain stayed," the Court ordered.

During the hearing, the counsel for Tailor argued that the FIR had been lodged nearly eight years after the complainant's husband allegedly converted to Islam.

The counsel further submitted that Tailor and his family profess Hinduism and had placed documents to that effect on record.

The case arose from an FIR lodged by the wife of a man who had allegedly converted to Islam after being influenced by Tailor.

According to the prosecution, after his conversion, the husband began pressuring his wife and their minor son to also convert to Islam, allegedly at Tailor's behest.

Based on the complaint, police registered a criminal case against Tailor under Sections 3 (prohibition of unlawful religious conversion) and 5 (punishment for unlawful religious conversion) of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, along with Sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Following an investigation, the police filed a charge sheet against him.

Tailor then approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings, contending that there was no material to show that he had attempted to convert either the complainant (wife) or her son.

The High Court, however, declined to interfere. It held that the statements of the complainant and her minor son specifically implicated Tailor and disclosed a prima facie case against him.

The Court found the allegations appeared to be serious and held that the issues raised by him were matters for trial.

It added that continuation of the proceedings could not be treated as an abuse of the process of law.

Aggrieved by the High Court's decision, Tailor approached the Supreme Court.

The top court issued notice on his plea and stayed further proceedings in the criminal case.

Advocate Abdul Qadir Abbasi appeared for the petitioner.