Prayagraj: Ayush Malik converted to Islam by his own choice and married a Muslim woman against his father’s wishes, the Allahabad High Court observed on Wednesday, September 16, disposing of a habeas corpus petition that had alleged the 31-year-old was being illegally detained by his father over the conversion and marriage.
The High Court had on September 9 directed the father to produce his son, the petitioner, before the court on September 16.
The order was passed by Justice Sandeep Jain, who was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Malik through his friend Sultan. Disposing of the petition, the court said Malik is a major and is free to do what he wishes.
Background to the case
It was submitted before the court that Malik, of his own free will and volition, renounced Hinduism and embraced Islam without any coercion, undue influence or inducement. According to the petition, the two had known each other since 2018 and Malik converted in 2023 before their nikah was solemnised in Delhi despite opposition from his family.
His father, Devraj Singh Malik, has alleged that the conversion was the result of influence exerted by the woman’s family, with the eventual aim of gaining access to the Malik family’s property. He lodged a police complaint after the marriage, leading to a first information (FIR) under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the son’s wife, Chandni Qureshi, and her relatives at Shamli Police Station on June 6 this year.
Qureshi and her father were arrested under the Act and spent several months in jail.
Ayush Malik alleged illegal detention
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that Malik was being held in illegal detention by his father, in collusion with state authorities, who had allegedly facilitated the confinement and unlawfully deprived him of his personal liberty.
In its September 9 order, the court had observed, “From a perusal of the documents annexed with the writ petition, it prima facie appears that the corpus, Ayush Malik, has voluntarily renounced Hinduism and embraced Islam and thereafter solemnised marriage with Chandni Qureshi against the wishes of his father.”The court had termed the allegation of detention and the involvement of state authorities “serious in nature” and warranting immediate consideration, and had accordingly directed that Malik be produced before it.
Some reports have suggested that Malik subsequently returned to Hinduism, though this could not be independently verified and was not reflected in the court’s order.
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