New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of forcible conversion, noting that the person who was stated to have been forced to convert to Christianity has denied the allegation.
A bench comprising justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and C T Ravikumar set aside the order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which refused to grant any relief to the accused, George Mangalapilly.
Apart from the testimony of the witness, there is nothing else on record which could potentially be relied upon against the accused, the apex court noted.
"In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and especially when the entire fulcrum of the prosecution rests upon the version of the man who was stated to be forcibly converted, in our view, the testimony of said person assumes great significance," the bench said. According to his own version neither was he forcibly converted nor had the appellant contacted him at any juncture, it observed.
"In view of these peculiar circumstances, in our view, the appellant is entitled to the relief prayed for. We, therefore, allow this appeal, set aside the order passed by the High Court and quash the proceedings against the appellant in respect of offence punishable under Section 3 and 4 of the MP Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 Act," the bench said.
The accused was booked under offences punishable under Sections 153(B)(1) (assertion prejudicial to national integration) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 of the M.P. Freedom of Religion Act, 1968.
According to the prosecution, the accused had converted Dharmendar Dohar to Christianity in violation of Section 3 of the Act and thereby committed the aforesaid offences.
In the trial, Dohar in his examination-in chief denied that he was converted by the accused.
He stated that his signatures were obtained on a piece of paper by certain persons, on the basis of which the prosecution was launched against the accused.
