'Majority population will turn into a minority if...': Allahabad High Court flags religious congregations

The High Court said this while hearing a bail plea of Kailash, who is accused of ferrying people from Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur to Delhi.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said Article 25 of the Constitution allows freedom to propagate religion but it does not mean, he underlined, conversions.

"The word 'Propagation' means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion," the order said as quoted by NDTV.

The court said, "If this process is allowed to be carried out, the majority population of this country would be in minority one day, and such religious congregations should be immediately stopped where the conversion is taking place and changing the religion of citizens of India."

"It has come into notice of this Court in several cases that unlawful activity of conversion of people of SC/ST castes and other castes including economically poor persons into Christianity is being done at rampant pace throughout the State of Uttar Pradesh," it added.

As per the First Information Report (FIR), Kailash, as the report claims, took Ramkali Prajapati's brother Ramphal to Delhi.

Ramphal, who has been suffering from mental illness, never returned home. He was taken to the gathering for treatment.

The FIR had alleged many people were taken from Hamirpur and were converted to Christianity.