Archive · 17 Sep 2026
Allahabad High Court Frees Converted Man to Choose Faith
Ayush Malik is a 31-year-old man from Shamli who told a court that he chose to become Muslim.
He said he converted in 2014 without anyone forcing or tricking him.
He also wanted to live with and marry Chandni Qureshi.
One report said they had already married, while other reports described the marriage as planned.
Malik said his family threatened him and kept him at home.
His father said Malik had been influenced or “brainwashed.”
The Allahabad High Court said Malik was an adult who could make important decisions for himself.
The court therefore allowed him to choose his religion, home and relationship according to law.
The Allahabad High Court ordered 31-year-old Ayush Malik to live wherever and with whomever he chooses.
Malik told the court that he voluntarily converted to Islam in 2014 without coercion, threats, inducement or undue influence.
He said he had changed his name to Mohammad Ali and wanted to marry Chandni Qureshi; one report said they had already married.
Malik alleged that his family threatened him and kept him under house arrest from June 4.
The court said an adult’s choices about religion, residence and relationships are protected by constitutional personal liberty.
- Who
- Ayush Malik, his father Devraj Singh Malik, Chandni Qureshi and the Allahabad High Court are central to the case.
- What
- The court ordered that Malik could practise his chosen religion, live where he wished and decide whom to marry or live with.
- When
- The order was issued on Wednesday; Malik said he converted in 2014 and had been confined since June 4. The court had ordered his production on September 16 after a September 9 hearing.
- Where
- The case was heard in the Allahabad High Court and involved Malik’s family home in Shamli.
- Why
- The court found no lawful basis to restrain an adult whose stated choices about faith and personal relationships were voluntary.
Malik’s Autonomy and Court Finding
Family’s Objection
Whether the conversion was voluntary
Malik’s Autonomy and Court Finding
Malik said he converted to Islam voluntarily and without threats, coercion, inducement, undue influence or pressure. The court said nothing on record justified disbelieving him.
Family’s Objection
Malik’s father, Devraj Singh Malik, said his son had been influenced or “brainwashed” and had not converted voluntarily.
Whether Malik could be restrained
Malik’s Autonomy and Court Finding
The court held that Malik had reached adulthood and was competent to decide his faith, residence and personal relationships. It found no lawful justification for continuing restraint.
Family’s Objection
Malik alleged that his family opposed his choices, threatened him and unlawfully confined him at their home.
Status of the relationship
Malik’s Autonomy and Court Finding
Malik said he wanted to marry Chandni Qureshi and live with a person of his choice; one report stated that the couple had already married.
Family’s Objection
His father opposed the proposed or reported marriage, and an FIR was registered against Chandni Qureshi and relatives under the state’s anti-conversion law.
- Person involved
- Ayush Malik, 31, a Bachelor of Pharmacy graduate from Shamli
- Conversion
- Malik said he voluntarily embraced Islam in 2014
- Changed name
- Malik said he changed his name to Mohammad Ali
- Alleged confinement
- Malik said he was threatened and kept under house arrest by his family from June 4
- Court ruling
- The court set Malik at liberty to reside where and with whom he chose
- Constitutional basis
- The court cited Article 25 on religious freedom and Article 21 on life and personal liberty
- Related criminal case
- Chandni Qureshi and her father were arrested following an FIR under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021
