The law to stop alleged ‘love jihad’ in the Shivraj government of Madhya Pradesh is stuck due to Corona. The Shivraj government was set to bring it in the assembly session starting today. The bill was approved by the cabinet on Saturday itself. However, the assembly session starting today has been postponed after five MLAs and 61 employees of the Assembly Secretariat tested Corona positive on Sunday. Now it has to be seen whether the Shivraj government brings an ordinance or not.
Although this is a bill, to stop love jihad, but this word is not mentioned anywhere in the bill. It mentions preventing forced conversions in the name of marriage. Madhya Pradesh had such a law since 1968, it was not so strict. The new law is much stricter than the old.
What’s in the new law? Will there not be a marriage in another religion after that? What was in the old law? Do other states have laws to prevent forced conversions? Let’s know the answers to some such questions …
what is the new law?
The name of the new law is ‘Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act 2020’ i.e. ‘Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2020’. As soon as this law is passed, the 1968 law ‘Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act’ will be repealed. There is no mention of ‘Love Jihad’ anywhere in this law. This law is simply against forced conversion. The new law is against marrying by greed, coercion, seduction, intimidation, fraud or lying.
How much punishment is there in the new law?
- Punishment for imprisonment for one to five years and fine of 25 thousand rupees for forcibly converting against the law.
- In the case of minor and SC-ST, imprisonment for 2 years to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000.
- Sentenced to imprisonment for 3 years to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50 thousand for marrying and abetting their religion.
- 5 years to 10 years imprisonment and fine of Rs 1 lakh for committing mass conversion (conversion of two or more at the same time).
- There is a provision of imprisonment for 5 years to 10 years for committing a crime against the law more than once.
- So will marriage not be done in other religion after the new law?
- The new law does not prohibit marriage or conversion. The new law is against marrying by greed, coercion, seduction, intimidation, fraud or lying. After the new law, if someone wants to marry on his own behalf in another religion, then it is necessary to inform the collector 60 days in advance. If you marry in another religion without giving information to the collector, then you can be imprisoned for 3 to 5 years and fined 50 thousand rupees.
What about post-marriage threats for conversion?
After marriage, if someone threatens or forces them to convert, that marriage can be terminated. In the new law, the parents or siblings of the aggrieved party have also been given the right to FIR.
Will there be a maintenance allowance after divorce?
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Absolutely. Its provision has also been made in the new law. Under this law, the husband will give maintenance allowance for the maintenance of the victim woman and her child. Apart from this, the child born will have the right over the father’s property.
Will this apply to a particular religion or will everyone come into the realm?
The new law has been brought specifically to clamp down on those who marry for conversion. It contains provisions to prevent forced conversions for marriage. People of all religions will come under the purview of this law.
The old law was there, so why was there a need for a new one?
In the old law, the offense was bailable. In the new law, it is non-bailable. In the new law, bail will be available only from the court, while in the old law there was a provision to get bail from the police station itself.
Punishment was also less in the old law. It had a sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a fine of up to 20 thousand. Whereas in the case of SC-ST this punishment was 4 years and the fine amount was 20 thousand rupees.
Which states in the country have laws to prevent forced conversions?
Right now 8 states have laws to prevent forced conversions. Earlier it was also in Tamil Nadu, but it was repealed in 2003.
Currently, there are laws in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Among them, there is a provision of imprisonment for 5 years in Himachal, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. This sentence is 7 years in the case of SC-ST and minor.
A law has been made for this in Uttar Pradesh too. Its ordinance was passed in the cabinet only last month. This law provides for a punishment of up to 10 years for forcible conversion.
Also, read our blog on Madhya pradesh cabinet approved Religious Freedom Bill 2020. Click here.