Delhi HC asks police to give protection to U.P. woman who wilfully converted to Islam

In her petition, the woman says she is facing ‘extreme threat to her life and that of her immediate family members from U.P. police, the media and vigilante groups’.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the police to ensure the safety of a young woman from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who had wilfully converted her religion from Hinduism to Islam, till her case is heard by a regular Bench of the High Court on July 5. A Vacation Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar said, “It is made clear that this Vacation Bench is not expressing any opinion one way or the other regarding the correctness of the averments [made in petition by the woman]”. “However, given the fact that the petitioner is a young girl who has expressed her apprehension regarding her security, the limited directions to the Respondents 1 and 2 (Delhi Police) to take adequate steps to protect the life and safety of the petitioner, till the matter is taken up the regular Bench on July 5,” Justice Shankar said. The High Court reopens on July 5 after a month-long summer break.