'65-Y/O Bareilly Man Not In Illegal Custody, Was Arrested In Conversion Case': UP Govt Tells Allahabad High Court

As per the court's earlier order, the authorities produced the corpus in the court, and a Bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Zafeer Ahmad was apprised that Beg was taken into custody in connection with an illegal conversion case.

The bench was also informed that he was arrested on September 7 after his name surfaced during the victim's statement.

It may be noted that Beg's wife has alleged that he was illegally detained by the Special Operations Group (SOG), was subjected to custodial torture and that a bribe of ₹1,00,000 was also demanded for his release.

The State also informed the Court that Beg was placed in judicial custody, and five days' police custody was obtained to ensure his production before the High Court. According to the State, the victim in the case was 'completely blind' and had been subjected to illegal conversion.

However, counsel for the petitioner insisted that Beg had been taken into custody much earlier (on August 20 itself). He also placed reliance on CCTV footage from the family's residence.

During the hearing today, the Court made the following remark:

"Corpus may be involved in illegal conversion, but the law has to take its course. The uniformed section of the government has to follow the law. They can investigate, but only by following the law", it said.

Against this backdrop, the bench adjourned the matter.

Petition Averments

The habeas corpus plea states that on the night of 20 August 2025, around 11:15 PM, 11 persons arrived at the petitioner's residence in three jeeps and forcibly took away the petitioner's husband.

The petition states that when the couple's son protested to this, one of the men pointed a revolver at his chest and threatened to shoot him if he spoke further. The plea avers that the arrival and actions of these persons have been captured in the CCTV footage installed at the petitioner's house.

It is further submitted that Beg, aged about 65 years and suffering from ailments, was illegally detained by police, and thereafter an illegal gratification of Rs. 1,00,000/- was demanded from the family for his safe release.

The plea added that Beg has no criminal antecedents, and yet he has been kept in illegal custody since 20 August 2025, in gross violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Advocates Ehtesham Afsar Khan and Humair Khan appeared for the petitioner