Himachal Pradesh Assembly Clears Bill Against Forced Conversions; Offenders To Face Prison Terms Of Up To 7 years

The legislative assembly of Himachal Pradesh today cleared a bill against forced conversions in the state, laying down strict penalties for those who violated its provisions, reports PTI. The statute will also penalise those marriages which are only entered for the purpose of a person adopting a new faith.

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2019 bill was passed in the House unanimously, although some MLAs such as Asha Kumari, Jagat Singh Negi and Sukhvinder Sukhu from the Congress, and CPM’s Rakesh Singa called for a few changes.

According to one of the provisions of the bill, a person who wants to change his or her religion will now be required to give a prior one month’s notice to the district magistrate, confirming that the conversion is being conducted willingly. The notice requirement will similarly apply to the priest carrying out the conversion ceremony.

Interestingly, the advance notice condition will not be applicable in case a person is seeking to convert to his or her “parent religion”.

Highlighting the need for such a law, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur stated that there had been a recent uptick in forced conversions, specifically in Rampur and Kinnaur.

According to the bill, any person found guilty of carrying out a forced conversion can be jailed for up to seven years.