The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the criminal trial in a Madhya Pradesh court against a person accused of forcibly converting a couple and their two children to Christianity.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the local court continued with the trial despite the Madhya Pradesh lawyer’s earlier undertaking before it that nothing would happen in the proceedings judicial before January 5.
On December 15, 2023, the SC had first heard the plea of Christian missionary Ajai Lall challenging his prosecution in the case. After taking note of the arguments of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lall, the bench issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
The case was filed by the NCPCR after a video of a woman claiming that she, her husband and children were asked to convert to Christianity in exchange for money and were harassed by the petitioner when They Stopped Going to Church went viral.
