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A Gujarat sessions court is hearing the trial of an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) supervisor accused of using her official position to pressure women working under her to convert to Christianity.
The accused, Namrata Macwan, works as an ASHA supervisor in Gujarat.
According to a complaint lodged by one of the five women working under her, Macwan made her team stay back after work between 2022 and 2024, disparaged Hindu deities by referring to them as “stones”, distributed Bibles, and made them watch faith-healing videos.
The complainant further alleged that, on one occasion, Macwan took the team to a religious gathering in Vadodara under the guise of field work, where pastors delivered sermons on the superiority of the Bible and attendees shared testimonies about how conversion had changed their lives.
When some members of the team attempted to leave, Macwan allegedly threatened to withhold their salaries.
Based on the complaint, Khambhat Rural Police registered an FIR against Macwan in 2025 under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act and initiated an investigation.
According to the police chargesheet, Macwan and her family are members of Jehovah’s Witnesses and were actively engaged in seeking converts. The chargesheet says that the family received ₹30 crore from the organisation for conversion-related activities.
Macwan subsequently approached the Gujarat High Court seeking bail.
Her counsel argued that, as a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, she was exercising her fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution to propagate her faith.
The High Court rejected the bail plea, observing that while Article 25 protects the right to profess and propagate religion, it does not extend to conversions brought about through force, fraud or coercion.
The criminal case is presently pending before the Sessions Court.
Read Swati Goel Sharma’s post on the case here.
Sources: Indian Express, The Times of India.
The matter assumes significance as Maharashtra recently became the 13th state to enact a Freedom of Religion law. At the same time, several petitions challenging or seeking to dilute such laws, including those filed by Jamiat Ulema, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and Teesta Setalvad, are pending before the Supreme Court.
Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation has intervened in the Supreme Court proceedings in support of the validity of these laws. SNU, along with its legal partner Network for Access to Justice and Multidisciplinary Outreach Foundation, has facilitated 18 intervention petitions filed by individuals who are victims of forced religious conversion. The matter is awaiting further hearing.
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