The first person, reportedly to have been convicted under the 'love jihad law', in Uttar Pradesh was recently sentenced to five years' imprisonment by a sessions court. 26-year-old Mohammad Afzal was reportedly accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl in UP's Amroha district in a bid to “change her religion”.
His conviction has been recorded for offences under Indian Penal Code , Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021.
Without going into the evidence available on record and how it was evaluated by the trial court, leading to conviction, we should first address the legal conflict between basic criminal Jurisprudence and Section 12 of the Act of 2021 (more commonly referred to as the 'love jihad' law), that puts burden of proof on an accused.
This means that, in a departure from regular practice, the accused has to prove that they have not committed any offence under this law .