Lucknow, Nov 5 The Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the post-conviction bail pleas of Islamic preachers Mohammad Umar Gautam and Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and six other convicts in the 2021 illegal religious conversion case. However, it granted bail to eight other convicts pending disposal of their appeals.
A division bench of Justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra passed the order while hearing applications in 16 criminal appeals.
The bench observed that the allegations against Gautam, Siddiqui and six others were extremely serious and found no justification for granting them bail at this stage.
The case relates to an alleged nationwide religious conversion racket busted by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in 2021. A special ATS court had on September 10 convicted 16 people, including Gautam, founder of the Islamic Da'wah Centre, and Siddiqui, in the case.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused were involved in converting economically weaker people, women and persons with disabilities to Islam through inducements and pressure. It had also alleged that the racket received funds from foreign sources.
Considering the relatively lesser roles attributed to the remaining eight convicts and the nature of evidence against them, the high court granted them bail.
Those granted relief included Mannu Yadav, Abdullah Umar, Dheeraj Govindrao Jagtap, Sarfaraz Ali Jafri and Rahul Bhola.
The court directed the eight convicts to deposit 50 per cent of the fine imposed by the trial court within two months. Failure to comply with the condition would lead to cancellation of their bail and their return to jail.
The high court directed that the criminal appeals be listed for hearing in the first week of January 2027.
