MP Govt unveils contours of anti-Love Jihad bill, guilty face up to 10 years in jail

On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a high-level meeting on the 'MP Freedom of Religion Act, 2020'. A bill in this regard will be introduced during the Winter session of the MP Assembly. At the meeting, Chouhan promised that strict action will be taken against forceful religious conversion or tempting someone to do so through marriage.

Moreover, several aspects of the aforesaid legislation were revealed in the public domain. For instance, Section 3 of the proposed bill makes it clear that no person can convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, or by any fraudulent means or by marriage. Top bureaucrats including Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr. Rajesh Rajaura attended this meeting. 

The MP government's impetus to enact a law against forced religious conversion comes in the wake of several states moving to outlaw 'Love Jihad. While the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 has already been promulgated, governments in Haryana, Assam, and Karnataka too have promised to enact a law against 'Love Jihad' very soon. As per some organisations, 'Love Jihad' refers to inter-religious marriages where the woman converts to Islam either by force or guile in order to marry a Muslim man.

Read: Love Jihad Legislation In UP & Uttarakhand Challenged In SC; PIL Hints At Potential Misuse

Here are key aspects of the proposed bill

• In the case of religious conversion, the affected person or his/her parents or blood relatives can file a complaint.
• The offence will be cognizable, non-bailable, and can be taken up by the Sessions Court.
• Such a case can be investigated only by a police officer of Sub Inspector rank or above.
• The burden of proving that the conversion has not been done by force will be on the accused.
• The marriage conducted with the intention of conversion will be considered null and void. 
• No person can attempt to abet or conspire religious conversion.  
• If a person wants to convert to another religion, he/she has to submit a letter of declaration to the District Magistrate one month in advance. 
• For violating Section 3, an individual faces imprisonment of 1-5 years and a fine of not less than Rs.25,000.
• If the victim is a minor, woman, or belongs to SC/ST, the guilty can be punished with 2-10 years imprisonment besides a minimum fine of Rs.50,000.
• An attempt to hide one's religion will be punishable by imprisonment of 3-10 years and a fine of at least Rs.50,000.
• Attempting mass religious conversions (of two or more persons) will attract imprisonment of 5-10 years and a fine of at least Rs.1 lakh.

Read: First FIR Filed Under 'Love Jihad' Law In UP's Bareilly, A Day After Approval Of Ordinance