Prayagraj, March 26 The Allahabad High Court has observed that claiming a particular religion to be the "only true religion" is wrong in a secular country like India and may amount to disparaging other faiths, thereby attracting provisions of law.
Dismissing a petition filed by Reverend Father Vineet Vincent Pereira, Justice Saurabh Srivastava said such statements prima facie fall within the ambit of Section 295A of the IPC, which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
In its order dated March 18, the court observed, "It is wrong for any religion to claim that it is the only true religion as it implies a disparagement of other faiths."
According to the FIR, the applicant allegedly held prayer meetings where he repeatedly stated that Christianity was the only true religion, which hurt the sentiments of members of another community.
During the investigation, the investigating officer found no evidence of illegal religious conversion but proceeded with filing a chargesheet over allegations of criticising other religions.
Counsel for the petitioner argued before the court that he had been falsely implicated and that no offence under Section 295A IPC was made out. It was also contended that the magistrate took cognisance of the chargesheet without proper application of judicial mind.
Opposing the plea, the state submitted that the matter involved disputed questions of fact that required examination of evidence during trial. It also argued that at the stage of taking cognisance, the court only needs to determine whether a prima facie case exists and is not required to conduct a detailed analysis.
The court noted that India is a secular nation where people of different faiths coexist, and emphasised that Section 295A specifically addresses acts done with deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious sentiments.
It held that at this stage, it cannot be said that no prima facie case is made out against the applicant and clarified that a magistrate is not expected to conduct a mini-trial or examine the defence while taking cognisance of the case.