A Manchester-based church leader who is due in an Indian court on Tuesday after being accused of trying to convert Hindus is facing charges under a law that’s not yet in force.
Pankaj Devnoor is out on interim bail but is barred from leaving the country.
The priest was in the western state of Maharashtra for a church celebration when he was named in a police case under a new anti-conversion law and hauled to a local court.
It has since emerged that the piece of legislation cited in the initial police chargesheet, known in India as a First Information Report (FIR), was still to come into effect.
Legal experts say the case raises serious questions about the conduct of the criminal justice system.
Who is the priest?
Devnoor, 50, leads a Christian community in Manchester associated with the Anglican Episcopal Church International.
He travelled to Pune in western India to attend the 141st anniversary celebrations of Pavitranam Devalaya church on 7 August, a 10-day programme involving sermons, prayer, and religious songs.
His daughter said the priest was caught up in the case with startling speed.
“Everything happened so quickly and so suddenly,” Manali Devnoor told The Independent. “They had taken his phone away, so we couldn't even really speak to him.”
His son Punit Devnoor described the church leader in a GoFundMe appeal as someone who had spent much of his life serving people, including through ministry work and visits to the sick in NHS hospitals.
What happened to him?
It all began on 7 August, when a group of Hindu men barged into the church programme and accused the organisers of trying to carry out religious conversions.
The complainant, identified as Amit Raju Bhosale, said he had seen publicity for what he believed was a Hindu cultural event and went, only to find Devnoor speaking about Christianity.
He also alleged that the audience was being misled and deceived into conversion.
But a local court, which later granted interim bail to Devnoor, said that there was no indication that the programme had been organised to convert people from another religion. It said the complainant and others had apparently gone to the venue under the “misconception that it’s a cultural programme for Hindus”.
Devnoor wasn’t detained, according to police, but his bail conditions prohibited him from leaving India without the court's permission. He must now regularly report to a local police station.
What's the issue with the new law?
The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act 2026 received presidential assent on 31 July but that did not make it immediately enforceable. It wasn’t due to come into force until 28 August.
So, according to human rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves, Devnoor was named as a suspect under a law that wasn’t yet operational.
“If the law has not come into force, there is no offence,” he told The Independent. “Simple as that. An offence can't be created by a judge. It can only be created by the parliament.”
Police said they assumed the law was in effect and that they would drop the anti-conversion charge, although they might pursue allegations under other laws, including immigration rules.
While Devnoor was allowed to attend prayer meetings and participate in religious functions under his immigration status as an overseas citizen of India, police said he could not preach or deliver a religious discourse without permission.
There’s also the question of whether the allegations described in the complaint amount to a crime even under the new law.
Gonsalves said voluntary conversion and missionary activity weren’t crimes and that an allegation of forcible conversion would require clear material showing force or inducement.
“Missionary activity is a very broad term and it's a legal activity,” he explained. “It’s illegal to carry out forcible conversion.”
Referring to the allegation that Devnoor was giving a lecture on Christianity, he said: “He didn't put a gun to his head and say become a Christian.”
“Forcible conversion, where is the force? Or did he say, I'll give you Rs 1m if you become a Christian? No. So where is the inducement? Where is the force and where is the inducement?”
Why wasn't the case thrown out?
That’s the question lawyers say now hangs over the court proceedings. Anas Tanwir, a Supreme Court lawyer, said the police had the primary responsibility to ensure they invoked a law that was actually in force. Since that didn’t happen, he noted, the duty went to the magistrate.
“Magistrate should not be a rubber stamp for police,” he said.
The court should examine “whether the alleged offence exists in law, whether the provisions invoked are in force, whether the FIR discloses their ingredients and whether the arrest is legally justified”, he added.
Gonsalves argued the complaint itself should have been examined for evidence of a criminal offence.
“The first thing a magistrate has to do is to check whether there is prima facie a crime committed,” he said. “If the law has not come into force, there's no offence.”
Devnoor could challenge the police case and the wider proceedings before the High Court, Tanvir said, particularly if they were based on a provision that was not in force. Gonsalves said the priest could also pursue action over any wrongful deprivation of liberty.
Why is his family fearful?
For Devnoor's family, the legal arguments are secondary to an overriding concern: bringing him home.
They said his name, address, and other personal details had been circulated publicly in India, leaving them fearful about his safety.
“We live in the UK and we read about the treatment of minorities in India. And it is not nice from what we’ve read,” his daughter said.
“That’s our biggest fear at the moment, particularly when details of his name, his exact location, where he lives – all of these things that nobody would like in the press – are being revealed. It is very scary. Our priority is making sure he comes back home safe. After that, we’ll see what needs to be done.”
Concern about the treatment of minorities in India has been growing abroad. In May, Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten voiced concern about minority rights ahead of his meeting with visiting prime minister Narendra Modi.
“It is not only about press freedom but also about the rights of minorities, who are under severe pressure. That applies in the first place to the Muslim community but also to many other smaller communities,” he was quoted as saying.
Christian advocacy group Open Doors said last year it had documented more than 60 incidents involving the disruption of Christmas gatherings or church services. Hindu vigilantes across the country attempted to disrupt celebrations, leading to a sharp rise in attacks on Christians. They vandalised churches, interrupted prayer services, harassed carol singers and dismantled festive decorations.
Earlier this year, a Christian pastor named Bipin Bihari Naik said he was assaulted and forcibly fed cow dung by a Hindu mob in Odisha state, after being accused of carrying out religious conversions.
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