Anti-Conversion Bill in Maharashtra: Child Born After Illegal Conversion to Share Mother’s Original Religion

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has introduced 'Maharashtra Religious Freedom Bill 2026' in the Assembly to stop forced or fraudulent religious conversion. The government says that this law has been brought to prevent religious conversion through force, greed, deception or on the pretext of marriage. Under the proposed law, a provision of jail and a heavy fine have been made for those involved in such cases.

What is the main objective of the bill?

According to the government, the purpose of this law is to ban such religious conversions which are done through pressure, greed, deception or any kind of inducement. The government says that this will protect the religious freedom of the people and no one will be forced to change their religion. In the proposed bill, there is a provision to consider such religious conversion as illegal and make it a punishable offence.

What will be the religion of the child born after illegal conversion?

An important provision of the bill is that if religious conversion in a marriage or relationship is considered illegal and a child is born from it, the religion of that child will be decided on the basis of the mother's original religion before marriage. There is a lot of discussion regarding this provision at the political and social level.

What needs to be done before changing religion?

According to the proposed law, if a person wants to change religion voluntarily, he will have to inform the district administration at least 60 days in advance. After this, after the completion of the process of religious conversion, the concerned person will also have to give a declaration form. If this process is not completed then the religious conversion may be considered illegal.

What is the provision for punishment?

According to the proposed bill, if a person's religion is changed through pressure, fraud or any kind of greed, then if found guilty, strict action can be taken against him. In such cases, a maximum punishment of up to 7 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh or more can be imposed. However, if this crime has been committed repeatedly or religious conversion has been carried out in an organized manner, then the punishment can be even more severe.

What will happen in marriage matters?

The proposed law also states that if the investigation proves that the purpose of the marriage was only to cause religious conversion, then the court can declare such a marriage void. Apart from this, the family or relatives of the concerned person can also lodge a complaint, after which the police can investigate.

Why is there debate?

The government is calling this a necessary step to prevent forced or fraudulent religious conversion. At the same time, opposition parties and some social organizations believe that such a law can affect personal freedom and inter-religious marriages. At present this bill has been introduced in the assembly, and only after further legislative process it will be decided whether it will be implemented as law or not.