On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh government ordered a probe into whether UP Road Transport Corp chief M Iftikharuddin, an IAS officer, broke the state’s anti-conversion law. This was after video clips surfaced on social media that showed him carrying on the Islamic legacy in a gathering of people in white hats. It was reportedly shot at his official residence in Kanpur. Police said they would investigate whether the clips were genuine and uncovered a crime.
The UP’s Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversions Ordinance, 2020, which came into force last November with harsher penalties, to avoid which the accused must prove their innocence, states that: “No person, directly or otherwise, may will not convert or attempt to convert. Neither by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement or fraudulent means, or by use or practice solely for the purpose of marriage, shall any person incite, persuade or conspire [in] Such conversions.” This law clearly deserves apex-court scrutiny for its constitutional validity, precisely for its burden of proof. In the interim, it should not serve as a tool for harassment. Justice is important to democracy.
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