In Uttar Pradesh, the old law prohibiting so-called ‘Love Jihad’ has been made more stringent. In the new law, there is a provision for punishment up to life imprisonment. In the new law, the amount of fine has also been doubled.
The ‘Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2024’, which tightens the old law, has also been passed by the Assembly.
According to the proposed bill, if any person converts or attempts to convert a woman, minor or any person by intimidation, luring, marriage or promise of marriage, then it will be considered a serious crime.
If there was an old law then why did the new one come?
There is a law in UP to stop forced conversion from 2020. But after four years the government has again amended it and introduced a new bill.
The government says that the existing law is not enough to stop religious conversion and mass conversion of SC-ST, women, minors and disabled people.
The UP government has amended the anti-conversion law at a time when, just a few weeks ago, the Allahabad High Court had said that in many parts of the state, SC-ST and economically weaker people are being converted to Christianity on a large scale.
Then the High Court had made a big comment and said that if such conversions are not stopped then one day the majority population will become minority.
What will change now?
In the proposed bill, the scope of the person filing FIR has been expanded. Under the current law, only the victim’s parents, siblings or anyone with whom he is related by blood could file an FIR. But ‘any person’ has been added in the proposed bill. That is, now any person can lodge an FIR in a case of forced conversion.
There is also a provision in the new bill that if a person intimidates or threatens a person with the intention of converting, makes a false promise of marriage to a woman, trafficks a minor, woman or person or attacks her property. If found guilty, the punishment will be a minimum of 20 years in jail, which can be extended up to life imprisonment.
Apart from this, in the new bill, there is a provision of jail and fine for conversion by taking foreign funding. The bill states that if a person takes funding from a foreign or illegal organization for illegal conversion, then if found guilty, he can be imprisoned for 7 to 14 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh can be imposed.
How much did the punishment change?
1. In case of conversion
– What was before: There was a jail term of 1 to 5 years. The amount of fine was Rs 15 thousand.
– What will happen now: Provision for prison sentence of 3 to 10 years. The fine was increased to Rs 50 thousand.
2. In case of Women-SC-ST
– What was before: In case of minor, woman or SC-ST, the punishment was 2 to 10 years. There was a fine of Rs 20 thousand.
-What will happen now: Now the person has also been included in it physically and mentally. The punishment will be 5 to 14 years in jail. A fine of Rs 1 lakh will also be imposed.
3. In case of mass conversion
– What was before: There was a jail term of 3 to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50 thousand was imposed.
-What will happen now: There is a provision for a prison sentence of 7 to 14 years. In case of mass conversion, a fine of Rs 1 lakh will be imposed.
How much punishment for alleged love jihad?
Till now, there was a provision of a jail sentence of up to 10 years for getting married and then converting by intimidation or coaxing. But now, if a person converts a woman by threatening, cajoling or promising her marriage, then if found guilty, a provision has been made for a jail sentence of at least 20 years. This punishment can be extended up to life imprisonment.
Bail conditions are also very strict
According to the proposed bill, the fine amount will be spent on the medical and rehabilitation of the victim. Apart from this, if the court wishes, it can impose a further fine of up to Rs 5 lakh on the accused, which will be given to the victim as compensation.
Apart from this, the conditions of bail have also been made stringent in the new bill. In the new bill, conditions like money laundering and UAPA have been added for bail.
If the new bill becomes law, then the accused will have to fulfill two conditions for bail. First, the government lawyer will be given a chance to oppose his bail. And secondly, the court should find that the accused is not guilty of such crime and will not commit any crime while on bail.
Now what next?
At present this bill has been passed by the Assembly. Since there is a Legislative Council in Uttar Pradesh, it is necessary to pass this bill in the Legislative Council also. After this, it will become a law after the approval of the Governor.