A court in Ghaziabad has acquitted Mahendra Kumar and his wife Seema of charges related to forced religious conversion, bringing an end to a case that began in July 2023. Additional Sessions Judge Shiv Kumar Tiwari, presiding over Court Number 4, delivered the judgment on October 28, 2025, after examining the evidence and witness testimonies presented during the trial.
The case originated from an incident reported at Modinagar police station on July 23, 2023. Police registered the First Information Report on the same day and filed a charge sheet on October 16, 2023. The couple faced prosecution under Section 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, a legislation that prescribes stringent penalties for unlawful religious conversions.
According to the case records, the police had arrested Mahendra Kumar and Seema from Modinagar in 2023 and sent them to judicial custody. The couple remained in jail initially but were later released on bail while the trial proceeded. The criminal case bore the number 396/2023, which was later registered as Session Case Number 69/2024 in the district court.
The prosecution’s case involved allegations that the accused couple had attempted to convert someone’s religion through various means. However, during the trial proceedings, the prosecution failed to substantiate these allegations with concrete evidence. Advocate Aleem Alvi, representing the accused, argued that no proof existed to support the charges of religious conversion against his clients.
The court formally framed charges against the couple on May 8, 2024, and the evidence phase concluded on August 13, 2024. Throughout the trial, multiple witnesses appeared before the court, but none could provide testimony that conclusively proved the accused had engaged in religious conversion activities. The judgment notes that witnesses failed to establish that Mahendra Kumar and Seema had converted anyone or attempted to do so through allurement, coercion, or fraudulent means.
During the proceedings, the court examined whether the accused had used tactics such as offering material benefits, employment opportunities, free education, or promises of a better lifestyle to influence religious conversions. The UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 defines such activities as unlawful allurement. The law also criminalizes conversions achieved through coercion, physical force, psychological pressure, or fraudulent misrepresentation.
The investigation revealed that on July 28, 2023, police had conducted searches at locations connected to the case. They seized multiple mobile phones from the accused, including an OPPO device, a Realme phone, and a Samsung handset. Police also recovered documents and other materials during their investigation. However, these items apparently did not yield evidence strong enough to support the conversion charges.
The judgment specifically mentions that the accused couple had attended a gathering at a location in Modinagar on July 23, 2023, where various social groups had assembled. The prosecution alleged that religious conversion activities occurred during this gathering. Yet, the court found that the evidence presented failed to establish this claim beyond reasonable doubt.
Throughout the trial, the defence maintained that the allegations stemmed from misunderstanding and lacked factual basis. The court scrutinized the case under the provisions of the 2021 Act, which prescribes imprisonment ranging from three to ten years and fines starting from fifty thousand rupees for violations. More severe penalties apply when conversions involve minors, disabled persons, or members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
After careful consideration of all evidence and witness statements, Judge Tiwari concluded that the prosecution had not met its burden of proof. The court invoked Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure while acquitting both accused persons.
