India: Christian Couple Sentenced to Five Years in Jail Under Anti-Conversion Law

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A Christian couple in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has been sentenced to five years in prison for ‘attempting to convert’ Hindus to Christ in violation of the state’s anti-conversion law, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

A special court in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India has convicted a Christian couple of attempting to convert under the state’s anti-conversion law, sentencing each of them to five years’ imprisonment and fines of 25,000 rupees.

Christian couple Jose and Sheeja Pappachan were arrested in January 2023 after Chandrika Prasad Upadhyay, a BJP member serving in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, accused them of trying to convert vulnerable people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from Hinduism to Christianity.

The couple deny the allegations, contending they were trying to provide education and encourage sobriety, CSW said. They were remanded in custody for eight months pending trial.
In a statement about the conviction and sentencing, CSW Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW is alarmed by the manner in which Christians in India today are being systematically attacked. For merely exercising their constitutional rights and adhering to their religious convictions, this couple has become the target of a harmful piece of legislation. CSW urges the authorities to objectively investigate the matter and not be influenced by far-right religious rhetoric which has caused immense division in Indian society.”

Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2025 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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