Kamal Ghorui
Prayagraj: Allahabad high court has pulled up Prayagraj administration for ordering a fresh police inquiry into a Muslim assistant professor’s conversion to Hinduism after a criminal case was filed by his Hindu father-in-law, who opposed his daughter’s marriage to him. Two inquiries in 2022 and 2023 had already found conversion voluntary.A division bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Indrajeet Shukla placed in abeyance an Aug 2024 order by Prayagraj additional district magistrate (administration) refusing to confirm conversion of Anil Pandit, formerly Mohammad Ahashan, under UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. HC directed ADM to pass a new order within three weeks, saying matter required a “pragmatic view”. Next hearing scheduled for May 27.Pandit, who teaches at an institute under Allahabad University, had filed a declaration on Jan 12, 2022, expressing his intention to convert to Hinduism. A priest later informed district magistrate about ceremony, which took place at an Arya Samaj temple on March 14, 2022.In Aug 2024, ADM ordered another inquiry after woman’s father lodged a complaint against Pandit over marriage. Relying on a July police report referring to FIR and chargesheet, ADM rejected conversion plea, saying it was done to facilitate marriage and citing a Rs 1 lakh transfer between couple in April 2021 as proof of inducement.
