Nagpur: Merely promoting Christianity or insisting on conversion does not mean a person has outraged religious feelings of any class, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court held last week. It quashed criminal proceedings against four persons from Amravati, accused of pressuring a couple to convert from Hinduism to Christianity.
Justice Mahendra Chandwani observed the allegations against the petitioners, even if taken at face value, did not establish essential ingredients of offences under BNS Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion). As per the FIR, the accused allegedly pressured a couple to convert to Christianity between September 1 and November 1, 2025, with offers to pay children’s educational expenses, construct a house and provide permanent employment at a charitable institution in Chandur Bazar. It found no material to establish a deliberate and malicious insult to religious beliefs of a class, as required under Section 299 of BNS. Nor was there material to show the petitioners uttered words, made gestures with the intention of wounding any person’s religious feelings, as contemplated under Section 302. The court also noted that prior sanction from the state or central govt was required under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita for prosecution under Section 299, but no such sanction was obtained.
The court also noted the prosecution did not obtain the mandatory govt sanction required to initiate proceedings. The petitioners approached court through counsel HS Chitaley seeking quashing of an FIR registered at Chandur Bazar police station in Amravati and the chargesheet. The complaint further alleged the couple was pressured to mention Christianity as their religion in official documents and that their children were influenced by Sunday school sessions. Examining the allegations, the court held the material indicated, at most, promotion of Christianity or insistence on conversion.
The allegations related to a period before Maharashtra’s law prohibiting unlawful religious conversion came into force on August 28, 2026. Another factor considered by the court was the timing of the alleged acts. The court noted that, when the alleged acts took place, there was no law in force prohibiting conversion on the ground of allurements as alleged in the case.