Governor approves anti-conversion law in Uttarakhand; strict action on forcible conversion

Minister Satpal Maharaj stating the objectives and reasons for the bill said that according to Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Constitution this amendment bill has been brought to remove the difficulties being faced in the objective of equally promoting each religion.

Dehradun: The much-awaited Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2022 passed by the Vidhan Sabha has been approved by the Raj Bhavan, said Additional Secretary Legislative Mahesh Chand Koshiwa on Friday. The amendment bill regarding the conversion law was introduced by Minister Satpal Maharaj on November 29 to tighten the law against religious conversions in the Assembly. Maharaj, stating the objectives and reasons for the bill, had said that according to articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Constitution of India, this amendment bill has been brought to remove the difficulties being faced in the objective of equally promoting each religion.

Making religious conversion against the law a cognizable and non-bailable offence in the bill, there is a provision of imprisonment from a minimum of three years to a maximum of 10 years for the offender. In this bill, a provision has also been made for a fine of at least Rs 50,000. After the amendment, the perpetrator of the crime may also have to pay a compensation amount of at least Rs 5 lakhs, which will be given to the victim.

The draft of the bill states, "No person shall, directly or otherwise, convert any other person from one religion to another by means of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement or any fraud. No person shall promote or conspire for such conversion." Since the implementation of this law, so far only five cases of conversion have been registered in the state and the police are investigating these cases. In fact, the presence of non-Hindus is increasing rapidly in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. Most of this number is in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun districts. In this, three cases have been registered in Haridwar and two in Dehradun.