Allahabad HC Summons Sisters in Conversion-Marriage Case for Direct Hearing

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh police and the father of two adult sisters to produce them before the court on August 6, in a case involving allegations of illegal confinement after the women chose to convert to Islam and marry partners of their own choice.

Justice Sandeep Jain passed the order on July 30 while hearing a petition filed by Divya Bhatia (now Zoya Diya Bhatia), 20, and Anshu Bhatia (now Amina Anshu Bhatia), 35. The sisters, through their counsel, told the court that they voluntarily embraced Islam without any pressure, force, or inducement, and that they had decided to marry according to their own wishes, which they argued is their constitutional right as adults.

According to the petitioners' counsel, their father, Anil Kumar Bhatia, lodged a police complaint in Agra in May 2025 to prevent them from exercising these choices. It is further alleged that, with the help of local police, the sisters were being illegally confined for acting against their father's wishes.

The lawyer for the sisters argued that the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, does not apply in this case, as there is no evidence of conversion by force, fraud, coercion, or deception. The Act, enacted to regulate religious conversions, has been a subject of legal scrutiny in several cases across the state.

In its order, the court stated: “Prima facie, from the averments made in the writ petition, it appears that both the corpus are major women who are legally competent to take independent decisions concerning their faith, marriage, residence, and future course of life. The pleadings further disclose that they have voluntarily renounced the Hindu religion, embraced Islam, and expressed their desire to solemnise marriage according to their own wishes.”

The court added that if the assertions made by the petitioners are ultimately found to be correct, then interference with such personal choices could amount to an infringement of their constitutionally protected rights to dignity, privacy, personal liberty and decisional autonomy.

“Their production before this Court, therefore, becomes imperative to enable the Court to interact with them directly and to satisfy itself regarding the voluntariness of their decisions and the legality of their present custody,” the court observed, while directing their production on the next date of hearing, August 6.

The court further ordered that if the women are not produced on the scheduled date, the concerned police officials must file personal affidavits explaining the reasons for non-compliance and detailing the steps taken to secure their production. This directive underscores the court's concern over the alleged illegal confinement and its commitment to protecting fundamental rights.

The case highlights the ongoing legal tensions around personal liberty, religious freedom, and family control in matters of marriage and conversion. While the UP law aims to prevent forced conversions, courts have consistently upheld the rights of adults to make autonomous choices in these matters. The August 6 hearing is expected to provide clarity on the sisters' status and the voluntariness of their decisions.