Kannauj man accused under U.P. conversion ordinance gets bail

His Hindu wife testified that she had married him of her own will.

A Muslim man from Kannauj, who was jailed under Uttar Pradesh’s strict anti-conversion law in December 2020 on charges of allegedly hiding his identity to marry a Hindu woman, has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. The Hindu woman submitted an affidavit to the district police supporting the case of her husband. Mohammad Taufiq Khan was accused by the father of the woman, Priya Verma, of hiding his identity and going under a false name to trap her in love for marriage. A case was registered against Mr. Khan at Gursahaiganj police station under Section 3/5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020. Sections 419 (cheating for impersonation), 420 (cheating), 496 and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code were also slapped against him on the complaint of the woman’s father Subash Chandra Verma. Mr. Khan’s counsel submitted that the woman was a major born in 1991, and that she and the accused had been in a relationship for the last 3-4 years and performed their marriage on their own will as per Hindu rites and rituals. Mr. Khan also said he never pressurised Ms. Verma to change her religion.