In a recent development that has drawn significant attention, the Allahabad High Court voiced deep unease regarding what it views as a growing trend of religious extremism among young people in India. The court described this as a highly troubling pattern. These observations were made during the judicial proceedings for a writ petition submitted by two 12th-grade school girls, Aleena (also known as Aleena Parveen) and Shabiya. The two Muslim students had approached the court hoping to strike down a First Information Report (FIR) filed against them.

The FIR in question accused the teenagers of violating the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. According to the charges, the two girls actively attempted to force their own religious beliefs onto a Hindu classmate.

Upon reviewing the matter, the Division Bench, presided over by Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena, ultimately decided to dismiss the girls' petition. The judges firmly declined to halt the ongoing police investigation, noting that, on the surface, there was enough valid evidence to form a prima facie case against the accused students. Emphasizing their concern over the ages of those involved, the Bench stated:

“If this kind of trend comes to be seen amongst young people, it is all the more disturbing. This is the time in their lives when they should be thinking more towards developing their skills in different fields of education and dedicate themselves to the service of society and the nation,” In its detailed written order issued on April 16, 2026, the High Court took the opportunity to outline the core purpose and critical importance of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The judges pointed out that the law was specifically designed to combat the rising tendency of individuals trying to force their faith onto others. Setting the context for the legislation, the court noted:“We must be alive to the situation that the Act of 2021 was enacted to curtail an emergent situation in society, where certain persons go about not professing or propagating their religion, but thrusting it upon others in the belief which somehow makes it to their mind the religion they believe in must be followed by others,”

The Bench further stressed that this specific piece of legislation was urgently required to tackle the very real issues of religious coercion and forced conversions happening across the country. They cautioned that interfering with the law's application too early could render it useless.

“The Act of 2021 was brought to curtail this emergent mischief, which is heard from different quarters in the country these days, and of which we must take judicial notice. A statute that is enacted to curtail an emergent mischief, if stopped in its tracks at the very early stages of its enforcement, would bog down the statute and frustrate its purpose,” the court elaborated.

Origins of the Incident

To understand how the situation reached the High Court, it is necessary to look back to earlier in the year. The initial FIR was officially registered on January 22, 2026, by the brother of the victim, Kumari Mahima. The complaint was lodged at the Bilari Police Station located in Moradabad, invoking Sections 3 and 5(1) of the 2021 Act.

In his formal police complaint, the brother detailed that the accused girls attended the same classes as his sister at a local coaching centre situated in Shahukunj Colony, Town Bilari, Moradabad. He alleged that these students aggressively pressured Kumari Mahima to embrace Islam and went so far as to physically force her to wear a burqa. Furthermore, the brother expressed grave concerns to the authorities, urging the police to look into the matter deeply as he suspected a much larger, organized conspiracy might be at play.

Aleena firmly pushed back against these claims. In her defense, she argued that the entire police case was simply an act of revenge. She claimed that the victim’s brother had previously been stalking her and had even made a romantic proposal, which she had flatly rejected. According to Aleena, the FIR was nothing more than retaliation for turning him down.

However, the case took a definitive turn when the victim, Kumari Mahima, provided her official statement to the Judicial Magistrate under the provisions of Section 183 of the BNSS. She provided a step-by-step account of the events that transpired a few days prior to the FIR, specifically on January 20, 2026.

The victim recounted that after finishing their routine coaching classes, Aleena, along with four other Muslim friends—identified as Malishka, Shabiya, Rimsha, and Zehra—invited her out to grab some snacks at a nearby restaurant. Before they could leave for the eatery, Aleena produced a burqa she had brought along and insisted that the victim wear it. When Kumari Mahima firmly refused, the group of girls overpowered her objections and forcefully made her put on the garment before heading to the restaurant. The victim admitted that she kept the entire ordeal a secret from her mother because Aleena had strictly warned her not to say a word.

During their time together, the victim alleged that Aleena engaged in a concerted effort to brainwash her into converting to Islam. Alongside the other four girls, Aleena continuously praised their faith, arguing that it offered true freedom and that wearing a burqa allowed women the liberty to go anywhere they pleased. They also shared details about their holy text, telling the victim that the entire Quran could be completed in just 40 days. Beyond verbal pressure, the victim informed the Judicial Magistrate that the group frequently brought non-vegetarian meals and would relentlessly pressure her to eat the meat. When she refused to compromise her dietary habits, they would demand that she at least consume the gravy. Throughout these interactions, the demands for her to accept Islam were reportedly constant.

When evaluating the conflicting stories, the High Court looked at physical evidence, specifically reviewing footage captured by a CCTV camera situated near the exact spot where the Muslim girls allegedly forced the victim into the burqa. Additionally, the judges highlighted a significant gap in Aleena's defense: despite her serious accusations that the victim's brother had been stalking and harassing her, she had never actually taken the step to file an FIR against him.

Weighing the victim's detailed testimony against the accused's claims, the High Court made its stance clear:

“Quite apart, the stand of the victim before the learned Judicial Magistrate cannot be trashed. It carries all the necessary facts, which would prima facie attract the provisions of Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Act of 2021,” Concluding their assessment of the situation, the judges finalized their decision to let the legal process run its natural course, stating: “In the totality of circumstances, we do not find it to be a fit case where we ought interdict investigation and quash the impugned FIR”.