Chhattisgarh Gears Up For Stringent Law Against Illegal Religious Conversions: Here's All You Need To Know About The Proposed Bill

A proposed bill in the Chhattisgarh Assembly aims to regulate religious conversions by requiring individuals seeking to convert to another religion to fill out a form with personal details at least 60 days prior and submit it to the District Magistrate.

The District Magistrate will then ask the police to assess the individual's "real intention, reason, and purpose."

Amendments to the draft of the Bill may occur before its final presentation in the Vidhan Sabha, Indian Express reported citing sources.

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Similarly, those conducting conversion ceremonies will need to fill out a form at least one month in advance.

The draft also states that conversions “cannot be done from one religion to another by the use or practice of abuse, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage".

Any conversion found to involve such practices will be deemed illegal by the District Magistrate.

Additionally, the “Chhattisgarh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Bill" states that after conversion, individuals will have to submit another declaration form within 60 days and appear before the District Magistrate for verification; failure to do so renders the conversion illegal.

A registry of conversions will be maintained by the District Magistrate, and objections can lead to a non-bailable FIR filed by blood or adopted relatives, with trials held in a sessions court.

Illegal conversions involving minors, women, or members of Scheduled Castes or Tribes carry penalties of two to ten years in jail and a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.

Mass conversions incur stricter penalties, with a minimum of three years and a maximum of ten years in jail, with a fine of Rs 50,000.

The court may also approve compensation of up to Rs 5 lakh to the victim of religious conversion.

The draft bill states that the burden of proof that a conversion was not illegal will be on the person who conducted the rituals.

The law does not apply to those who want to re-convert to their previous religion.

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