Allahabad High Court Awards ₹25 Lakh Compensation for Unlawful Confinement of Sisters Post-Conversion
In a landmark judgment, the Allahabad High Court has ordered a compensation of ₹25 lakh to be paid to two sisters who were illegally detained by their father following their conversion from Hinduism to Islam. The judgment, delivered by Justice Sandeep Jain, mandates that the compensation be jointly provided by the women’s father and the State government.
The Court’s decision, dated August 6, highlights the sisters’ prolonged unlawful confinement at their parental home since 2021. It criticized the State for failing to secure their release and instead allowing the illegal detention to continue under the guise of ongoing criminal proceedings.
Justice Jain pointed out, “The record unmistakably reveals that the State machinery failed to discharge its constitutional obligations and, by its acts of omission and commission, lent tacit support to the continued deprivation of the fundamental rights of the corpus. Such executive inaction and constitutional indifference cannot receive judicial approbation and renders the State equally accountable in public law for the violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the corpus.”
The Court affirmed the sisters’ right to live freely without interference, and ordered the State to ensure their protection. It also instructed the father to return their personal documents and belongings within a week.
Additionally, the Court noted the absence of any evidence suggesting the sisters’ conversion posed a threat to national security. “No material has been placed before this Court to demonstrate that the voluntary exercise of religious choice by the corpus, by itself, constitutes a threat to the sovereignty, integrity or security of the country,” the Bench stated.
The sisters, aged 20 and 35, asserted their conversion to Islam was a personal choice made freely and voluntarily. The Court emphasized their constitutional right to autonomy, including the freedom to choose their faith and residence, as integral to their right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and the freedom of conscience under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.
The ruling came in response to a habeas corpus petition which claimed the sisters, after converting to Islam, intended to marry according to their choice. Their father allegedly filed a false kidnapping case to thwart their plans, and the police added anti-conversion law provisions to the FIR. The petition accused the father, with police collusion, of unlawfully confining the sisters.
During a court-ordered appearance on July 30, the sisters confirmed their voluntary conversion to Islam. The Court dismissed the State’s claims of a conspiracy threatening national integrity due to the conversion, stating that apprehensions do not replace admissible legal evidence.
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Justice Jain asserted, “The constitutional guarantee of personal liberty cannot be permitted to yield to familial disapproval, social orthodoxy or executive apathy.” The judgment underscores that the liberty of adult individuals is inviolable and any attempt to restrict it unlawfully demands constitutional scrutiny and appropriate legal repercussions.
The petitioners were represented by Advocates Ali Bin Saif, Kaif Hasan, Mohd Abubakar, Mohd Areeb Masood, Faraz Khan, and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. The State was represented by Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal and Additional Government Advocate Pankaj Saxena.
