3 weeks ago
Allahabad HC orders release, compensation for sisters confined over conversion
Two grown-up sisters from a city called Agra chose to follow a new religion, Islam.
Their father did not like that choice, so he kept them locked inside their own house for about a whole year.
That is not allowed, because grown-ups get to make their own choices.
The police found the sisters in another city called Kolkata and brought them back, but they were still kept at home.
A very important court, called the Allahabad High Court, said the father acted illegally.
The judge said parents cannot lock up their adult children just because they disagree with their faith.
He also said the government helpers should have protected the sisters, but they did not help.
The court told the father and the state to give the sisters money to make up for the bad treatment.
The sisters' father must also give back their passports and school papers within seven days.
The Allahabad High Court ordered the release of two adult sisters from Agra who were confined by their father for embracing Islam.
Justice Sandeep Jain held the confinement was 'wholly illegal' and an 'unlawful deprivation of fundamental rights' under Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India.
The court directed the father and the Uttar Pradesh government to jointly pay Rs 25 lakh compensation, allowing the state to recover 50% from the father and 50% from responsible public servants.
The sisters, who converted to Islam in 2020 and 2021 and were traced by Agra police to Kolkata, alleged physical restraint, intimidation and sustained mental harassment.
The court rejected the state's claim of a larger conspiracy threatening the nation's sovereignty, finding the sisters' statements 'spontaneous, coherent and unequivocal' and ordering the father to return their documents within seven days.
- Who
- Two adult sisters from Agra, aged 35 and 20, their father, and a single bench of Justice Sandeep Jain of the Allahabad High Court.
- What
- The High Court ruled the sisters' confinement was 'wholly illegal' and ordered their release, directing the father and the Uttar Pradesh government to jointly pay Rs 25 lakh compensation and the father to return their belongings.
- Where
- Allahabad High Court; the sisters are from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and were traced by police to Kolkata, West Bengal.
- When
- The court's order was dated August 6; the sisters were confined for about one year after their father learned of their conversion in 2021 and escaped last year.
- Why
- Because the sisters voluntarily embraced Islam, which their father disapproved of; the court held that adult individuals' liberty and faith choices cannot be suppressed by parental authority.
Individual liberty and voluntary conversion
State and father's conspiracy and national security concerns
Nature of the conversion
Individual liberty and voluntary conversion
The sisters said they voluntarily embraced Islam, free of force, fraud, inducement, influence or coercion, and denied the father's allegations.
State and father's conspiracy and national security concerns
The father alleged abduction for forced marriage in a police case, and the state claimed the conversions were part of a larger, organised conspiracy and a well-orchestrated design disturbing the social fabric of the country.
Right to confine adult children and state conduct
Individual liberty and voluntary conversion
The court said the Constitution gives parents no licence to incarcerate adult children for their faith, and criticised the state machinery for permitting the unlawful confinement instead of securing the women's release.
State and father's conspiracy and national security concerns
The father had a police case registered alleging abduction for forced marriage, and the sisters were handed over to him while stringent criminal proceedings remained pending against the accused.
Threat to national sovereignty
Individual liberty and voluntary conversion
The court and the petitioners' counsel found the state's larger conspiracy theory speculative and unsupported by cogent material, questioning how conversion of two adult women could threaten the sovereignty, integrity or unity of the nation.
State and father's conspiracy and national security concerns
The state invoked charges of endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country and being part of an organised syndicate, citing material suggesting involvement of foreign entities and external influences in the alleged conversion.
Key facts
- Court
- Allahabad High Court (single bench of Justice Sandeep Jain)
- Order date
- August 6
- Compensation
- Rs 25 lakh, jointly payable by the sisters' father and the Uttar Pradesh government
- Sisters' ages
- 35 (elder) and 20 (younger)
- Sisters' education
- Elder sister holds M.Sc, M.Phil and B.Ed degrees; younger sister is a Class 12 passout
- Conversion to Islam
- 2020 and 2021
- Period and place of confinement
- About one year, in their paternal home in Agra
- Traced to
- Kolkata, West Bengal
- Law invoked against accused
- Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act and other stringent provisions
Quotes
Justice Sandeep Jain
Allahabad High Court judge
“"Once an individual attains majority, the Constitution recognises her autonomy to take decisions relating to faith, belief, residence, association and every other facet of personal liberty, subject only to restrictions sanctioned by law."”
scroll.in
“"The Constitution does not confer upon parents a licence to incarcerate their major children merely because they disapprove of their faith, beliefs or personal choices."”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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