Gujarat high court denies discharge to two maulvis in Bharuch conversion case

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has rejected the discharge applications filed by two maulvis accused of converting 100 Hindus from 37 tribal families to Islam through allurement in Amot taluka of Narmada district since 2006.Justice Gita Gopi rejected the pleas filed by Sarfaraz alias Javid Khuji alias Javid Mufti Salim Hasan Yusuf Ibrahim Khilji and Ramiz Raja alias Owaish Abdul Gani Abdul Rahim Khilji, who were booked along with many others under Section 4 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act and Section 120(B), 153(b)(1)(c) and 506(2) of the IPC in 2021. They were implicated in the case according to the third chargesheet filed by the police.The advocate for these two clerics submitted that, being maulvis, it is their religious duty to preach the religion; therefore, no case could have been drawn against them for performing the religious act. Moreover, they have their fundamental right to do so, submitted the advocate.The govt vehemently opposed the discharge applications and submitted that a larger conspiracy behind illegal conversion was busted by the police and Sarfaraz was earlier involved in the conversion of many innocent villagers into Muslims. He was accused of holding a meeting with other accused and witnesses, and performing namaz. Sarfaraz along with a third co-accused, Haji Abdul Fhefadawala, delivered the lecture and also imparted knowledge of Islam to those converted as Muslims.The govt also relied on the statements of complainant Pravin Vasawa and other converted people that revealed that the maulvis along with others often came to their village and gave clothes, medicines and cash amounts and lured them to embrace Islam. They provided education to the residents of Amod village for conversion. It has been alleged that the accused promised the converts that they would get an air cooler, a water cooler, a hand cart, and a chattai/chaadar for offering namaz.After the hearing, the HC upheld the trial court's decision of rejecting the discharge applications and said, "Having considered the evidence against the present applicants in the form of statements of the witnesses and the provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2006, no case of any discharge has been found on the material and statements perused by this court. There is evidence of meetings conducted by the applicant, which were for religious conversion."