IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION (AGAINST ORDER PASSED BY SUBORDINATE COURT) NO. 2 of 2025 ================================================================ YUSUFBHAI JIVANBHAI PATEL @ MAHENDRABHAI JIVABHAI VASAVA &

ORS.

Versus STATE OF GUJARAT ================================================================

Appearance:

MR MUHAMMAD QUASIM VORA(10344) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5 UMARFARUK M KHARADI(8155) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5 MR BHARGAV PANDYA, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Respondent(s) No. 1 ================================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE GITA GOPI Date : 30/03/2026

ORDER

1. By way of this application, the applicants have challenged the order passed by the learned 4^th Additional Sessions Judge, Bharuch below Exhibit 1 in Special Atrocity Case No.04 of 2022 whereby the prayer to discharge them from the case came to be rejected.

2. The present applicants are five in number and the referred challenge has been given under Section 438 read with Section 442 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

3. Learned advocate for the applicants Mr. Umarfaruk Kharadi submitted that the First Information Report had been registered with Amod Police Station, Bharuch for the offences punishable under Section 4 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 read with Section 120(B), 153B(1)(c) and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to learned advocate for the applicants Mr. Kharadi, the applicants were not named in the FIR but came to be added during the course of investigation. It is further submitted that no role has been attributed to the applicants and inspite of that, the charge-sheet has been filed where the investigating officer was required to file a Report under Section 189 of the BNSS. Learned advocate Mr. Kharadi submitted that the learned trial Court Judge has failed to appreciate the facts and has not considered that the applicants have been falsely implicated in the offences. As per learned advocate for the applicants Mr. Kharadi, the statements of the six persons, on the face of the record were sufficient enough to make them witnesses and not the accused. It is also submitted that for the sole purpose of sensationalizing the issue, innocent persons have been arraigned as accused which is a clear abuse of process of law and therefore, submitted that the applicants are required to be discharged from the matter.

4. Countering the above submissions, learned Additional Public Prosecutor Mr. Bhargav Pandya has referred to the specific role of each individual applicant and has submitted that though the applicant No.1-Yusufbhai Jivanbhai Patel was initially a Hindu, he got converted. The statements of (1) Rajubhai alias Anil Dahyabhai Solanki (2) Dharmeshbhai Chitubhai Vasava (3) Vijaybhai Dhirajbhai Vasava (4) Yogeshbhai Budhabhai Vasava (5) Udesanghbhai Jesangbhai Vasava (6) Vijaykumar Chandubhai Arya (7) Rajeshbhai Arvindbhai Vasava (8) Arvindbhai Vasantbhai Vasava (9) Jagdishbhai Vasantbhai Vasava (10) Punjabhai Raniabhai Vasava (11) Abu Bakar Suleman Patel (12) Arjun Dalsukh Vasava (13) Mukeshbhai Dilipbhai Vasava (14) Anil Panchiabhai Vasava (15) Rohit Rameshbhai Vasava (16) Udesangh Jesang Vasava and the complainant-Pravin Vasantbhai Vasava have been referred to by the learned APP to submit that all the witnesses have stated of forcible conversion and the fact of being threatened and of providing economic assistance to the members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST). There are evidences in the form of Whatsapp Chats, videos, lectures, which have been made viral affecting the religious sentiments of the people of the Hindu community and create animosity between two communities.

5. For applicant No.2-Ayub Barkat Patel, who too was a Hindu converted to Muslim, referring to the statements of (1) Rajubhai alias Anil Dahyabhai Solanki (2) Dharmeshbhai Chitubhai Vasava (3) Vijaybhai Dhirajbha