HC directed state authorities and Devraj to produce Ayush on Sept 16 and said that if they failed to do so, the officials concerned would have to file personal affidavits explaining the reasons and steps taken to secure his presence
Shamli : Allahabad high court directed state authorities and a Shamli businessman to produce his 31-year-old son before it on Sept 16 after a habeas corpus petition alleged that the man was being illegally detained following his conversion to Islam and marriage to a Muslim woman against his father’s wishes. The petitioners alleged that Devraj subsequently lodged a false FIR on June 6 against Chandni, her father Islam Qureshi, cleric Munavvar and others under Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act and BNS Sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 308(5) (extortion). Chandni and her father remained in jail for around one-and-a-half months before a sessions court granted them bail on July 24.
In its Sept 9 order, HC said the allegations of illegal detention and involvement of state functionaries were “serious in nature” and required immediate consideration. The petition said Ayush had voluntarily embraced Islam without coercion, undue influence or inducement and later married Chandni Qureshi, despite opposition from his father, Devraj Singh Malik. Justice Sandeep Jain, J. issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by Mohd Kari Sultan, a Saharanpur resident who described himself as a friend of Ayush Malik.
He publicly maintained that he had converted to Islam of his own free will, but on June 29-30, a video showed him performing puja at the family temple, lighting a diya, applying tilak on Lord Hanuman’s idol and touching his mother’s feet, while saying he had returned to Hinduism voluntarily after seeing his parents’ distress.
Devraj strongly denied the allegations and told TOI , “Members of the minority community are trying to take away my son. He said Ayush continued to manage work independently, buy stock for the family’s medical store, meet people and make payments himself, and added that he would comply with HC’s order. The petition further alleged that state authorities and their functionaries colluded with Devraj to facilitate Ayush’s illegal detention and deprive him of his personal liberty. This court case is part of their strategy. The controversy first surfaced in early June after photographs of Ayush offering namaz on Eid circulated on social media.