Title : THE ANTI CONVERSION BILL

Date : Dec 18, 2021

Description :

GS II

 

Topic à Government Policies & Interventions

 

• Background:

 

• The Freedom to Religion Bill, 2020 has been approved as an Ordinance by the MP Cabinet.
• Similar legislation have previously been approved in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

 

• What do they have in common:

 

• The declaration of such marriages as "null and void" and the criminalization of conversions performed without the state's prior sanction are similar features of all three statutes.

 

• Differences:

 

• They differ in terms of the severity of the punishment and who bears the responsibility of proving that a conversion is legal.
• Previous notice: For a conversion to be valid, the MP Law needs a 60-day prior "statement of the intention to convert" to the District Magistrate, after which a couple of different religions can be legally married.
• The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Ordinance, 2020, demands a 60-day notice as well as a police investigation to determine the true intention behind the conversion.
• The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019, which took effect last week, mandates a 30-day "declaration of intention to convert" prior to conversion.

 

• Who can look into it:

 

• The MP Law:
• According to Section 4 of the MP Law, a police officer cannot conduct an investigation unless the person converted or the person's parents/siblings file a formal complaint. Under the legislation, no police official below the rank of sub-inspector can investigate a crime.

 

• According to Himachal law:
• No prosecution can begin without the approval of a sub-divisional magistrate or a higher-ranking officer.

 

• The UP law:
• Allows the same people to submit a complaint as the MP statute.
• The burden of proof is on the plaintiff.

 

• The burden of proof for showing that the conversion was done without compulsion or illegality is placed on the person who was converted under the MP Law.

 

• A comparable clause exists in Himachal legislation.

 

• The UP law goes much farther, shifting the burden of proof from the individual to those who "caused" or "facilitated" the conversion.

 

• Source à The Hindu à 16/12/21 à Page Number 4

Tags : UP, Himanchal Pradesh