Religious conversion row: SC protects VC of SHUATS varsity from arrest till Jan 5

NEW DELHI: India’s top court, on Tuesday, issued a temporary order protecting Rajendra Bihari Lal, Vice-Chancellor of SHUATS University in Uttar Pradesh, from arrest and coercive action until January 5. This comes as he challenged the Allahabad High Court’s order refusing to quash an FIR related to alleged religious conversion.

The Supreme Court’s two-judge vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vishwanathan, passed the interim order today and protected the accused, Lal from arrest till further orders.

Lal, the Vice-Chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS) in Uttar Pradesh, is accused of persuading a woman to adopt Christianity by offering her a job and other benefits.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered in November 2023, by a woman against Lal and many others. Challenging this FIR, Lal had moved the Allahabad High Court seeking quashing of it, but the HC refused to quash it, forcing him to knock on the doors of the top court for relief.

The FIR was registered against Lal and others under various sections including that of rape, illegal religious conversion and immoral trafficking. The apex court granted relief today to them.

“There shall be an interim order protecting the petitioner (Lal) from arrest in connection with the FIR. There shall be a stay on the Allahabad HC judgment till January 5 (next year) or until further orders whichever is earlier,” the vacation bench in its order today said.

The top court also made it clear that the matter would be listed for re-opening before the Chief Justice of India for further directions or order.

This article is originally published on https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/dec/19/religious-conversion-row-sc-protects-vc-of-shuats-varsity-from-arrest-till-jan-5-2642955.html