Madhya Pradesh Government proposes law to regulate Inter-faith marriages

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Madhya Pradesh government on 26th December proposed a law to regulate inter-faith marriages in the state. It has a provision of punishment of 10 years of jail for ‘forcing’ women, minors and SCs and STs to undergo religious conversion.

About

• The Madhya Pradesh Dharmik Swatantrata (Freedom of Religion) Bill 2020 proposed that ‘paitrik dharm me wapasi’ will not be treated as religious conversion.
• It says that reconversion to parental religion does not come under the purview of crime.
• Parental religion or ancestral religion means the religion of the father of the person at the time of his birth.
• This bill will replace the 1968 Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.
• The bill seeks to prohibit religious conversions or an attempt of conversion by means of misrepresentation, allurement, threat, undue influence, coercion, marriage, and any other fraudulent means.
• The conspiracy and (the act of) abetting a person for conversion has also been prohibited.
• The draft of the bill says, ‘The forced conversion of woman, minor, scheduled castes and scheduled tribe will attract 2-10 years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 50,000. Mass forced conversion will attract 5-10 years of jail term and fine upto to Rs 1 lakh. Burden of proof will lie on the accused.’
• It will come under cognizable offence and will be non-bailable.
• Forceful Inter-faith marriages and forced conversions can be declared null and void according to the proposed law.
• Prior information of atleast 60 days before the date of marriage, at the office of District Magistrate, is required to be given by the person and the religious gurus.
• In case of violation of this rule an imprisonment of 3-5 years and a minimum fine of 50,000/ will be charged from the accused.
• It is said that the MP government has come up with the toughest law against forced conversion in India.

Opponents’ View

• The bill does not have provision of forced conversion that took place in the past.
• There is no time limit for lodging a complaint with the police after the marriage.
• As in Dowry Prohibition Act the time limit for lodging a FIR is seven years after marriage such provision of time limit is not included in this bill.
• The bill is mainly targeting the Muslim community.
• Tribals will be affected as religious conversion into Christianity is prevalent in these areas.
• Fake complains can be lodged and people can be forced for reconversion into Hindu.

However it has been asserted by the state government that the bill clearly talks about ‘forced’ conversions. People just need to inform the District Magistrate regarding it.

UTTAR PRADESH government passed the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance on November 28, 2020 similar to the law enforced by the Madhya Pradesh government. It is said that in UP the law is not as stringent as in MP. Most of the provisions are same with only difference of fine that is 25000 in Uttar Pradesh.

Punishment for unlawful conversions in Uttar Pradesh (Source: PRS Legislative Research, prsindia.org)