'Love jihad' poses major threat to nation's unity: Court

The objective of "love jihad" is to establish dominance by certain anti-social elements of a particular religion against India through demographic warfare and international conspiracy, a local court in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly has observed.

Additional District Judge (Fast Track Court) Ravi Kumar Diwakar said Hindu girls are being lured into "love" for the sake of illegal conversions and create conditions similar to those in Pakistan and Bangladesh in India.

Diwakar said that illegal conversions pose a significant threat to the country's unity, integrity, and sovereignty as he heard a case involving marriage under false identities, relationships, and abortion on Monday.

The judge made the remarks while sentencing 25-year-old Mohammad Alim to life imprisonment, convicting him for raping and threatening a student after falsifying his identity.

His 65-year-old father too was sentenced to a two-year jail term for aiding the man in the crimes.

The complainant in the matter was a 20-year-old woman who was pursuing a computer course in the city.

There is "a conspiracy to create conditions similar to those in Pakistan and Bangladesh," Judge Diwakar warned.

Alim, a native of Jadaunpur village of the Devarnia area, had deceived the woman by posing as 'Anand'.

The court also ordered that copies of the ruling be sent to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police.

The court said that conversions are being conducted through psychological pressure and inducements such as marriage and jobs, and also expressed concerns about potential foreign funding.

If the issue is not addressed in time, it could lead to severe consequences, it observed.

The court pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh government enacted the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021, specifically to combat illegal conversions through "Love Jihad."

"The Constitution grants every individual the fundamental right to practice and propagate their religion, and this personal freedom cannot be compromised through illegal conversions facilitated by 'Love Jihad'," it noted.