The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh has taken very strict steps to curb the cases of ‘Love Jihad’. Now a strict law is going to be made in UP to stop the cases of Love Jihad, in which there is a provision of life imprisonment if the crime of Love Jihad is proved. In this law, the punishment for many crimes has been doubled. Many new crimes under Love Jihad have also been added to it.
In fact, the Central Government has already said that it is a matter for the state governments to make religious conversion law and it has to be decided by the state governments only. Therefore, in the new law being made in UP, there is a preparation to bring funding for illegal religious conversion under the ambit of the law. Let us tell you what are the provisions in the Anti Love Jihad Act of UP.
What are the provisions in the new law?
1. The new law has a provision of 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment if found guilty.
2. Now any person can lodge an FIR in cases of conversion.
3. In the first case, the presence of the victim, parents or siblings was necessary to give information or complaint.
4. No court below the Sessions Court will hear Love Jihad cases.
5. In the case of Love Jihad, the bail petition will not be considered without giving a chance to the government lawyer.
6. In this, all crimes have been made non-bailable.
The first law was made in 2020
Let us tell you that the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh had made the first law against Love Jihad in 2020. After this, the UP government passed the Prohibition of Religious Conversion Bill 2021 in the Assembly. There was a provision for punishment ranging from 1 to 10 years in this bill. There was a provision in this bill that religious conversion done only for marriage would be considered invalid.
Earlier there was a provision of 10 years imprisonment
According to the old law made in UP, converting religion by lying or cheating will be considered a crime. If someone wants to convert voluntarily, he will have to inform the magistrate 2 months in advance. According to the bill, there was a provision of 1-5 years of jail along with a fine of Rs 15,000 for forced or fraudulent religious conversion. In this case too, if the case was related to a Dalit girl, then there was a provision of 3 to 10 years of jail along with a fine of Rs 25,000.
The case came to light in Lucknow
Many incidents of love jihad have been coming to light in the state. CM Yogi has issued instructions several times to be strict on this matter. CM has said that incidents of luring Hindu girls into love trap by telling lies will not be tolerated. In the year 2023, such a shocking incident came to light in Mohanlalganj, Lucknow. Here a Hindu family saw that their daughter was offering Namaz. The people of the house were stunned to see this. After strictly interrogating the girl, it was revealed that she had married a Muslim boy. The boy has also changed her religion. In this case, despite pressure from the family, the girl had eloped with the boy. Similar incidents have come to light in Lucknow, Bareilly, Bahraich and Western UP areas.