Delhi HC protects lawyer in case linked to his brother's alleged involvement in religious conversion, suicide abetment

New Delhi [India], December 21 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has granted transit anticipatory bail to a lawyer whose brother is facing charges under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Act, cheating, breach of trust, causing hurt by means of poison, sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, miscarriage, and dowry.
The charges stem from allegations made by the father of a woman, whom the brother was set to marry, accusing him of abetting her suicide. The lawyer sought protection from arrest as the case is being handled in Uttar Pradesh.
Advocates Sumit Gehlot and Nikhil Bhalla representing the petitioner Advocate Kashif Athar pro bono argued that he is a practicing lawyer in Delhi. They clarified that it was the petitioner's brother, Faraz Athar, who had been engaged to the complainant's daughter, and it was at her residence that the woman tragically committed suicide.
Advocate Sumit Gehlot further stated that the sole allegation against the petitioner is that the petitioner allegedly instructed his brother, Faraz Athar, to obtain a letter from the complainant (father), stating that he had no objection to his daughter marrying a Muslim man. However, there are no allegations suggesting that the petitioner in any way instigated the complainant's daughter to take her own life.
Acknowledging the submissions of Advocate Sumit Gehlot the bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan stated that, considering the circumstances and the petitioner's residence in Delhi, transit anticipatory bail is granted until the next hearing date. The matter is listed for further proceedings on January 9, 2025.
During the hearing, the Court also requested Amol Sinha, Additional Standing Counsel for the State of NCT of Delhi, to assist in determining whether this Court has the authority to grant transit anticipatory bail to the petitioner, given that the FIR is registered in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, outside its territorial jurisdiction. It is within the Court's jurisdiction to grant transit anticipatory bail, citing the law established by the Supreme Court in Priya Indoria v. State of Karnataka & Ors. The Court took note of this submission.
The Court noted that, according to the prosecution, on November 24, 2024, the petitioner's brother got engaged to the complainant's daughter at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Noida, in the presence of family members from both sides.
However, on December 11, 2024, as per the FIR allegations, the complainant's daughter tragically committed suicide, leading to the registration of the FIR against the petitioner and his family members, including his mother, brother, and sister.
The Ghaziabad police recently arrested a 38-year-old man - Faraz Athar on charges of abetting the suicide of a 30-year-old woman and allegedly coercing her to convert for marriage.
Police said that the woman died after setting herself afire with kerosene at her house in Ghaziabad on December 11 and the 70-year-old father of the woman later filed an FIR against the accused, identified as Faraz Athar Ali, a resident of Shahdara, Delhi, who is currently living in Noida. (ANI)