‘Cases of Love Jihad are a potential threat to national integrity’: Says Haryana court while convicting Shahbaj for sexually assaulting minor Hindu girl

A court in Jagadhari city in the Yamunanagar district of Haryana, convicted a Muslim man, Shahbaj, on 17th July for sexually assaulting and intimidating a minor Hindu girl to force her into a relationship with a Muslim juvenile. The court described the case as “Love Jihad” and sentenced the accused to a 7-year jail term along with a ₹ 1 lakh fine.

The court observed that such cases were a potential threat to the country’s sovereignty and integrity. Acknowledging that Love Jihad is not an offence under the BNS, additional sessions Ranjana Aggarwal described it as a “purported campaign by Muslim men to convert non-Muslim women to Islam by pretending to be in love”.

The case came to light in November 2024, when the 14-year-old Hindu girl’s father filed a complaint at City Yamunanagar police station naming 35-year-old Shahbaj and a juvenile as accused. The complaint stated that the juvenile used to stalk the girl on her way to school, and Shahbaj forced her to befriend the juvenile.

An FIR was registered under sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS and sections 17 (abetment), 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment of a child) under the POCSO Act.

While convicting and sentencing the accused, the judge noted that Shahbaj systematically tries to force an interfaith relationship on the victim through “allurement and inducement”. The judge granted Shahbaj a four-year sentence under section 8 and a one-year sentence under section 12 of the POCSO Act and a two-year sentence under section 351(2) of the BNS. The sentences will run consecutively.

Cases of Love Jihad have been on a rise across the country. Recently, two massive Islamic conversion rackets were busted by the Uttar Pradesh police in Balrampur and Agra, in which Muslim men were being funded to lure and coerce young Hindu women to convert to Islam. Investigation into the rackets revealed foreign funding. Several individuals connected with the rackets, including a kingpin of the Balrampur conversion racket, Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, were arrested by the police. A multi-agency probe is being conducted in the cases involving the Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Enforcement Directorate.

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