Allahabad HC orders Uttar Pradesh govt to pay Rs 50,000 to man jailed in false anti-conversion case
Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 on the Uttar Pradesh government in a false anti-conversion case, directing the state to pay Rs 50,000 to the petitioner, Umed alias Ubaid Khan, who was jailed for one and a half months even after the alleged victim had stated before a magistrate that she had left home voluntarily.
A division bench of Justices Abdul Moin and Babita Rani passed the order on October 30 while hearing a petition filed by Khan and others, who were arrested under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
The petitioners had sought to quash a First Information Report (FIR) lodged at Matera police station in Bahraich district, accusing them of abducting a woman and attempting to convert her religion.
The bench ordered Khan’s release, noting that even after the woman had stated before a magistrate that she had gone to Delhi voluntarily to meet her daughter, the police continued the probe and kept the accused in custody.
“This petition is a glaring example of the state authorities failing and scrambling over each other in order to score brownie points,” the newspaper quoted the court as saying.
Describing the police action as “vexatious”, the bench ordered the state to pay Rs 50,000 to Khan and deposit the remaining Rs 25,000 with the court’s Legal Aid Services.
The case pertains to a complaint filed on September 13 by Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Bahraich, alleging that his wife had gone missing with jewellery and cash, and that five men, including Khan, had lured her away. Police booked the accused under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita sections pertaining to kidnapping and under the state’s anti-conversion law.
The woman returned home and gave a statement, following which police added charges of criminal breach of trust, stolen property and a provision of the 2021 Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. Khan was arrested on September 18.
However, on September 19, the woman gave a fresh statement before the magistrate, saying that she had left home voluntarily due to “regular domestic abuse” by her husband. In this statement, she did not allege any attempt at religious conversion and handed over all her jewellery to the police. Her lawyer later told the High Court that her earlier statement had been made under threats and coercion from her husband and in-laws, the report added.
“The court, having gone through the entire records… proceeds to exercise powers vested in it under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to quash the FIR and all consequential proceedings,” the court stated.
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Massive fire destroys 10 fishing boats in Kerala's Kollam
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): Around 10 fishing boats, anchored in Ashtamudi Lake here, were gutted as a massive fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday, police said.
The incident happened in the Kureepuzha area under the Anchalumood police station limit.
According to police, the blaze was first spotted past midnight, and the boats anchored in a row caught fire.
Local people and fire force personnel pressed into action to check the further spread.
"As per the preliminary assessment, around 10 boats were destroyed completely. The exact cause is yet to be identified, but a gas cylinder blast is suspected," a police officer said.
No casualty has been reported so far, police added.
