Overview

• The Karnataka High Court quashed the FIR after finding that distributing religious pamphlets at the Ramatheerth Temple did not constitute an offence under Karnataka’s anti-conversion law.
• Justice Venkatesh Naik T held that even accepting the FIR’s allegations, no evidence of force, fraud or allurement had been presented to satisfy conversion criteria under the statute.
• The bench emphasised that Section 4 of the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act restricts complaint filing to the person allegedly converted or their close relatives, stripping third parties of legal standing.
• The accused were initially booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for outraging religious feelings after a barber alleged they offered vehicles and Dubai jobs to induce conversions, with derogatory remarks against Hinduism.
• By clarifying strict standing requirements, the ruling fuels debate over religious freedom versus the protection of consecrated spaces under Indian law.