Uttar Pradesh: NIA Court Sentences 16 Convicts in High-Profile Illegal Conversion Case

In a landmark ruling, a special court in Lucknow sentenced 12 individuals to life imprisonment and 4 others to 10 years behind bars in an illegal religious conversion case. The court also imposed hefty fines under the relevant sections of the law.

Key Details of the Case:
Who Was Sentenced? Among those sentenced was Maulana Kalim Siddiqui, who was arrested in 2021 for allegedly running a nationwide religious conversion syndicate. He, along with others including Prakash Rameshwar Kavde, Faraz Babullah Shah, and Mufti Qazi Jahangir Alam Qazmi, was convicted of violating laws under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

Other Convicts: The court convicted several others, such as Mohd. Salim, Dheeraj Govind Rao Jagtap, and Sarfaraz Ali Jafri, under Section 121(A), Section 123, and Section 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

Background:
The case gained nationwide attention when the UP ATS arrested Maulana Kalim Siddiqui from Meerut in September 2021. Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar and head of an Islamic Trust, was accused of running a mass religious conversion racket, allegedly receiving foreign funding to promote religious conversion and stir tensions between communities.

The verdict sends a strong message about the enforcement of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, signalling the state’s commitment to addressing illegal conversion activities.