In a historic first, a special court in Uttar Pradesh has sentenced a Christian couple to five years in prison for attempting to convert people. The special court in Ambedkar Nagar district convicted Pastor Jose Pappachan and his wife, Sheeja Pappachan, on 22 January 2025. Along with the prison sentence, the couple was fined ₹25,000 each.
“This is the first time we have encountered such a sentence for a suspected conversion attempt,” said AC Michael, a prominent Christian leader monitoring “anti-Christian” activity in India. Michael claimed that the verdict “will not stand the scrutiny of a higher court,” arguing that an attempt to convert is not classified as a crime under Indian law.
The Christian couple was accused of violating the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021, which was amended in 2024 to include harsher penalties, including life imprisonment for certain offenses. The complaint, filed in January 2023 by Chandrika Prasad, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused the couple of targeting people from tribal and socially disadvantaged Dalit communities for conversion. According to Chandrika, the couple had been active in the Dalit settlement of Shahpur Firoz in the district for several months, allegedly targeting poor families and attempting to persuade them to convert to Christianity. On 25 December 2022, they had gathered a large crowd of Dalits for mass conversions. The police filed the chargesheet based on eyewitness testimonies, which led to the couple’s conviction.
The Allahabad High Court granted bail to the couple in September 2023 after they had spent eight months in prison. In its ruling, the High Court clarified that activities such as distributing Bibles, educating children, and organizing community meals do not constitute an attempt to convert under the law. The court also stated, “Providing good teachings, distributing the Holy Bible, encouraging children to get an education, organizing assemblies of villagers and conducting bhandaras [community meals], instructing villagers not to argue and also not drink liquor does not amount to allurement,”
Moreover, the High Court raised concerns about the legitimacy of the complaint, noting that under the original 2021 law, only an aggrieved person or their relative could file a case. However, the 2024 amendment expanded this provision to allow third-party complaints.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with 200 million residents, has become a hotbed for anti-Christian activities. UCA News claims that at least 70 Christians, including pastors, are currently imprisoned under the stringent anti-conversion law. While Christians make up only 0.18% of the state’s population, Hindus account for 80%, and Muslims comprise 19%.
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