AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has ordered the immediate release of an interfaith couple detained by police for 10 days on the basis of an FIR accusing the husband, a Muslim who converted to Hinduism before marriage, of violating the anti-conversion law.
The bench of Justices Sonia Gokani and Sangeeta Vishen issued the order in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by the brother of Surat-based RTO official Nisarkhan Ghasura alias Nishant, who married his wife Shweta in a Hindu ceremony after changing his faith.
According to the petition, the police picked up the newly-weds in Palanpur, around 408km from Surat, on January 9 and illegally detained them till an FIR was lodged against them on January 15 by the bride’s father.
Nine days into Ghasura’s detention at Palanpur East police station, investigators produced him in a local court and sought a 14-day remand for custodial interrogation. The court granted the police custody for four days, which the HC has since quashed.
The high court observed that Palanpur police appeared to show “undue fervour” while investigating the complaint against Ghasura. Directing the range IGP to conduct an inquiry into the illegal detention of the interfaith couple, the judges said the couple should be granted bail without any delay and allowed to proceed to Surat under police protection.
Besides violation of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2003, the complaint against Ghasura accuses him of concealing his marital status while eloping with Shweta on January 6. The state’s anti-conversion law mandates that anyone wanting to convert has to obtain prior permission from the collector.
The common charge against the couple is of fraud. Shweta’s father has claimed in the FIR that their marriage was “fraudulently” solemnised in the adjoining Sirohi district of Rajasthan and that the priest named in the records, Jitendrakumar Brahman, wasn’t even present at the venue. The police have booked the marriage registrar from Rajasthan, Lalsinh Chaudhary, along with two “witnesses” to the marriage.