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.
