The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has passed the Conversion Amendment Bill in the Assembly, due to which conversion is in discussion. In this bill, the already made law has been made more stringent. On the very first day of the monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly i.e. on Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna tabled the ‘Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Act 2024’ in the House and the very next day on Tuesday, it was passed by the Assembly. In this bill, conversion by hiding facts or by intimidation has been categorized as a crime and a provision of life imprisonment has been made for it. The bill states that taking funds from abroad and any illegal institution for religious conversion will also be considered a crime and the provision of punishment has been increased in this too. How are the names of children decided if the religion of parents is different? Earlier, there was a provision of maximum 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 for a person found guilty of marrying a woman after deceiving her and converting her. On Tuesday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna requested the members to pass the bill in the Assembly. Although the bill was passed, before that many members of Congress and Samajwadi Party proposed to hand over this bill to the Select Committee. However, due to the large number of members opposing handing over the bill to the Select Committee, this proposal was rejected. Punishment of life imprisonment In this amended Act, the law has been made stricter than before in cases of fraudulent or forced conversion and a provision of maximum punishment of life imprisonment has been made.

In the amended bill, maximum punishment of life imprisonment has been provided to the culprits of converting a woman by deceit, marrying her illegally and harassing her. The government’s argument in favor of the bill is that to stop the illegal conversion of women, SC, ST etc. and dignity and social status of women, it has been felt that the provisions of punishment should be made more stringent. During the debate on the bill, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said on Tuesday that after his government came to power, rules like Anti Romeo Squad were made and this has got rid of the problem of miscreants. While presenting the bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna said that there is no controversy on this bill. The purpose of this bill is to provide justice to those who are victims of illegal religious conversion. Fear of increase in fake cases Religion has become important in Indian politics in the past years and talks of its misuse often arise. Many types of questions are also being raised regarding this bill. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Mata Prasad Pandey has raised questions about the misuse of this law. He said, “The bill should have a provision for strict action even on making a false complaint.

Mata Prasad Pandey feared that this would increase fake cases. He also suggested adding a section in the law that if in such cases the accused is proved innocent and released, then there should be a provision to register an FIR against the policemen who register a false FIR and there should be a provision of at least one year’s punishment for the policemen so that filing false cases in such cases can be avoided. How difficult is it for a Hindu and a Muslim to become life partners in India? It has been proposed in the bill that if any person converts religion by intimidation or by threatening loss of life and property, then it will be considered a serious crime. Also, if a person marries with the intention of conversion or does human trafficking of a minor girl or woman, then he can be sentenced to up to 20 years. Anyone can complain There is another special thing in this amendment bill that not only the victim or his family members but anyone can complain about religious conversion and an FIR can be lodged against it in any police station. In the earlier law, only the victim or his brother or parents could file a complaint. In case of such a complaint, it would be a non-bailable offence and no court lower than the Sessions Court can hear it. Apart from this, the decision on bail cannot be given without hearing the prosecution. Raising questions on the draft bill, Congress Legislature Party leader in the Assembly Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ cited the Constitution and said that this is a sensitive matter and demanded that a commission should be formed in this matter, which investigates whether the complaint is correct or not.

“Against the Constitution” Aradhana Mishra said, “We believe that forced religious conversion is a serious crime. But the government should be careful because it does not always happen forcibly, sometimes it also happens voluntarily. This is not a political but a social issue and it needs to be thought about in the same way.” On the other hand, Samajwadi Party MLA Dr. Ragini Sonkar said in a conversation with DW that the government wants to divert people’s attention from important issues through this bill. She said, “This bill is completely against the Constitution because if two youths marry of their own free will, then what is the problem with that. Secondly, if their parents and family members are ready, then what is the justification for a complaint from a third person.” This law was first introduced through an ordinance in November 2020, which was made a law in the year 2021. It was then argued that the incidents of forced religious conversions are increasing continuously in the state, people are marrying by luring people by hiding their identity on the pretext of marriage, due to which it has become necessary to make this law.