Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to SHUATS Vice-Chancellor, Director and others in religious conversion case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS) at Prayagraj, in connection with a religious conversion case involving allegations of mass forced conversions to Christianity. .A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra today made the top court's March 2023 order granting interim protection from arrest absolute.Anticipatory bail was also granted to three other officials/ professors working at the institute..The Supreme Court had on March 3 last year stayed the arrest of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of SHUATS, Dr. Rajendra Bihari Lal, and sought the response of the State of Uttar Pradesh on the anticipatory bail plea filed by Lal.Lal had moved the apex court for relief after the Allahabad High Court had dismissed Lal's anticipatory bail plea on February 28 that year.SHUATS, earlier known as Allahabad Agricultural University, is one of the prominent universities in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh..The April 2022 first information report (FIR) in connection with which the officials of SHUATS were made accused alleged that they were complicit in an attempt to lure around 90 persons to convert to Christianity. As per the complaint, around 90 people had gathered outside the Evangelical Church of India, Hariharganj in Fatehpur District to convert to Christianity after coercion and undue influence.Upon interrogation, it was allegedly revealed by a pastor that the process of conversion had continued for 34 days and was to complete in 40 days and that they were also converting patients from the Mission Hospital in collusion with the employees.The investigating officers found 55 people allegedly involved in the conversion. 35 were named and 20 were unknown.An FIR was registered under Sections 153A, 506, 420, 467, 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 3 read with 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021..The VC of SHUATS had submitted that the FIR did not name him but that he was continuously harassed and intimidated persons belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).Eight months after the FIR was registered, the the VC was served a notice under Section 41(1) of Code of Criminal Procedure on December 26, 2022, asking him to appear before the investigating officer (IO) on December 29, 2012.Despite his cooperation, a raid was conducted in the university and huge hue and cry was also made in the media to tarnish the reputation of the VC and SHUATS, it was submitted.The VC then moved for anticipatory bail before the Sessions Court and the Allahabad High Court, both of which came to be dismissed.This prompted the present appeal before the top court which was eventually allowed, along with similar pleas by others accused..Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad appeared for the State of Uttar Pradesh.Senior Advocates CU Singh, Siddhartha Dave and Mukta Gupta (retired Delhi High Court judge) appeared for the SHUATS officials and professors accused in the case.