UPSC Articles
Prohibition Of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions; E-governance
In news
- The UP Cabinet recently cleared an ordinance to ban religious conversion for marriage.
- The new law will put the onus on the defendant to prove that conversion was not for marriage.
Key takeaways
- The Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020, recommends 1-5 years imprisonment if an accused fails to prove that the conversion of the woman was not for marriage or by use of force, allurement etc.
- The jail sentence for the offence would be 3-10 years if the woman is from the SC/ST community or is seen as part of mass conversion.
- The notice period to the district magistrate for the religious conversion has been doubled to two months from a month in an earlier draft.
Do you know?
- The ordinance comes days after the Allahabad high court said in a verdict that the right to choose a partner or live with a person of choice was part of a citizen’s fundamental right to life and liberty.
- The verdict also said earlier court rulings that ‘religious conversion for marriage was unacceptable’ was not good in law.
