Following intervention by the nation's highest court, seven pastors who were imprisoned in separate cases under Uttar Pradesh's harsh anti-conversion statute were given bail.
One of the pastors, who wished to remain unnamed since he assists the local Christian community with its legal matters, said, “Surely it is a big relief for us and no doubt it is like a miracle."
“It is true the courts in the state used to be rigid in granting bail, especially in alleged conversion cases,” said Social worker Dinanath Jaiswal adding that the situation altered starting this month as a result of the Supreme Court's warning.
On May 2, the highest court in the nation questioned the lower courts' refusal to provide relief to plaintiffs and ordered the Allahabad High Court to remove a judge from active service if they disobeyed an earlier ruling for liberal bail.
Jaiswal told UCA News that a “strong stand from the top court has made a real difference in our bail cases.”
Twelve more people have also been granted bail by several district courts in the last two weeks, bringing the total number of Christians who have been released on bond after being detained for months to 19.
According to Jaiswal, there isn't a single converted individual, or his family, as a complaint, in all the cases registered against Christians. "The anti-conversion law is only used as a tool to harass Christians," he said.
