Hearing on May 14 on cancellation of FIR lodged against 7 accused including Shuates Vice Chancellor

The Supreme Court will hold the final hearing on May 14 on the petitions seeking quashing or clubbing of the FIR lodged against seven accused, including RB Lal, vice chancellor of SHUTS (formerly Allahabad Agricultural University), accused in the case of mass conversion of 90 Hindus. A bench headed by Justice JB Pardiwala gave this order.

On March 1, the Supreme Court had granted regular bail to seven accused including RB Lal. On December 19, 2023, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the UP government imposing an interim stay on the arrest of RB Lal, besides Rekha Patel, Professor Ramakant Dubey, Vinod Bihari Lal, Professor Ranu Prasad, David Philip and Sunil Kumar John.

Allahabad High Court, while refusing to stay the proceedings of the registered FIR, had ordered the accused to surrender before December 20, 2023. The High Court said that this is a matter related to the interests of a large section of the society. The investigating agency has kept evidence to prove the allegation of conversion. The allegations are very serious and the court cannot take them lightly.