The Golaghat District and Sessions Court has dismissed all charges against pastor Pranjal Bhuyan, who became the first person arrested under Assam’s controversial Magical Healing Act. The court ruled on May 13, 2025, that the accusations against the 38-year-old church leader were “entirely unfounded.”
Bhuyan, a project coordinator at Golaghat Baptist Church, was arrested on November 23, 2024, under the Assam Magical Healing (Prevention of Evil Practices) Act, which was enacted in March 2024. He spent six days in custody before being released on bail.
The case gained significance as Bhuyan became the first person charged under the law, which criminalizes traditional healing methods and religious conversions with penalties of one to three years imprisonment and fines.
Speaking to the press a day after his acquittal, Bhuyan expressed faith in India’s constitutional protections.
“I had faith in the power of the Constitution of India to deliver justice,” Bhuyan told the media on May 14. He added that “collective prayers of Christians and non-Christians” played a role in his exoneration.
Bhuyan firmly denied the allegations of using magical practices for conversion. “Why should I force or lure people through magical practices to convert when I adopted Christianity voluntarily after stepping into adulthood?” he questioned.
A Hindu by birth, Bhuyan converted to Christianity in 2006 after watching programs by televangelists. “I faced a lot of resistance at home, but my parents relented after they found my association with the church made me a better person with a positive attitude. They became Christians six years after me,” he explained.
The pastor maintained that his activities were limited to prayer. “I am neither God nor a doctor to cure anyone. People come to me for prayer requests for any problem they face. As a pastor or evangelist taught by the Bible to love people of any faith and pray for their well-being or forgiveness, I pray for them,” Bhuyan said.
He also revealed the toll the case took on his family. “My family, including my wife and daughter, were traumatized by the arrest. I assured them that my belief in Christ and the Constitution of India would see me through.”
The Assam Christian Forum (ACF) welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as “a testament to the judiciary’s impartiality and dedication to upholding the rule of law.” Allen Brooks, spokesperson for the ACF, expressed gratitude for the verdict.
“This verdict affirms our constitutional right to religious freedom,” Allen Brooks, spokesperson for the ACF, told Christian Today. “While we celebrate justice for Pastor Bhuyan, his case reveals a disturbing trend of laws being weaponized against minority faiths. We urge vigilance against such misuse.”
The ACF credited Advocate Johnny Baksh of Golaghat for his “unwavering legal defense and commitment to justice” in a statement following the verdict.
However, the organization raised concerns about potential misuse of the law. “The Assam Magical Healing Act, while intended to address exploitative practices, must be implemented with care and discernment. Mr. Bhuyan’s wrongful arrest highlights the Act’s potential for misuse and the urgent need for checks and balances in its enforcement,” the ACF stated.
The forum reaffirmed its faith in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate their religion. It called on authorities to ensure the law’s fair and non-discriminatory enforcement.
Bhuyan’s case has sparked debate about the law’s implementation. The pastor himself “underscored the need to implement the piece of law carefully so that it was not misused” and expressed hope that he would be “the first and the last person to be booked under the Assam Healing Act.”
The Assam Magical Healing Act was passed by the state government led by the pro-Hindu Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). During its passage, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that his government wanted to curb evangelism with “robust legislation” and criticized magical healing as “a dicey subject used to convert tribal people.” Christians make up just 3.74 percent of Assam’s 31 million population. At least ten other Indian states, mostly ruled by the BJP, have enacted similar anti-conversion laws
Despite his ordeal, Bhuyan expressed no resentment toward his accusers. “I was falsely accused of converting people, and the court’s verdict made it clear. However, I bear no ill will against the complainants because not forgiving them will go against what I have imbibed,” he concluded.
