Overview:

• This bill looks to prevent the conversion of a person’s religion through force, fraudulent methods, allurement or under the guise of marriage.
• Similar Bills have also been passed in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
• The Bill was first tabled on 4^th March.
• The state government has said that a person changing religion on their free will not be penalized under this new bill, but it will look out to protect a person from forceful conversions.

Provisions under this bill

According to this Bill, if the conversion is done by force, allurement, or fraudulent methods then the person responsible for such acts can be imprisoned for one to five years and a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh will be made applicable.

The Bill states that whoever attempts to convert a woman, a minor, or a person from the Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes, will be handed out a punishment that includes imprisonment for a term period of a minimum of four years and that can extend to 10 years. The person will also be liable to pay a fine of minimum Rs 3 lakh.