The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025 serves to control forcible religious conversions across Rajasthan. This bill protects religious conversion freedom by prohibiting it when people become followers through force or through deception or through coercion or by receiving enticing offers. The bill demands harsh punishment for unlawful conversion offenses which entails imprisonment of one to five years and possible monetary fines. Those who convert minor women and members of the SC/ST communities receive more severe punishment under the current law which allows up to 10 years of imprisonment. Higher penalties await individuals who participate in mass conversion activities. A conversion process under this bill requires applicants to notify District Magistrates at least sixty days ahead of their decision. Non-compliance results in penalties. Marriages based only on conversion reasons render no legal standing according to Indian laws.
The proposed legislation faces objections because experts claim it violates religious freedom protections stated in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. These critics believe the legislation creates conditions to potentially abuse religious communities and fight against interfaith marriage relationships. The supporters note that protecting susceptible populations from deceptive practices alongside maintaining societal concord is vital.
Key Provisions of the Bill
Unlawful Conversion Defined:
An unlawful conversion as defined by the bill exists when a religious conversion happens through ways that include force, allurement, fraud and coercion.
- An individual who faces threats combined with intimidation as well as compelled pressure to change their religious beliefs without their consent experiences coercion. Physical and emotional types of coercion combine within this definition.
- The law deems any physical action or forceful aggression which aims to pressurize people into conversion to be unlawful. This bill defines forced conversion as an offense which protects people from being hurt physically because of religious practices.
- The term allurement includes every method which exploits financial gain along with employment opportunities together with material gains and academic perks for purposes of religious conversion. The scope of allurement includes commitments related to potential marriages as well as improved living standards and elevation of social status.
- A deception through Fraudulent Means functions as an unlawful act to make someone convert their faith. Religious belief changes become unlawful when individuals get deceived into making such decisions.
Burden of Proof Explained
This legislation flips the standard legal framework where one starts as innocent before evidence proves them guilty. Under this law the parties responsible for conversion facilitation must demonstrate legal compliance regarding their conversion methods. The revised proof standard exists to stop people and organizations from using forceful or deceptive means to convert others to follow new faiths.
Implementation:
- When accused of unlawful conversion they need to show the religious conversion occurred through free choices rather than from coercion or through forced means or through deceptive methods. Proof of legal conversion requires established documentation together with witness reports and additional verification documents to confirm consent was freely given by the convert.
- Under this bill district authorities demand that anyone desiring conversion must file a pre-conversion statement to the District Magistrate at least sixty days before conversion takes place. The declaration contains vital information about the person converting together with their planned religious conversion and the conversion facilitator. The bill requires conversion notifications prior to their execution to guarantee security while permitting authorities to validate the authenticity of conversion operations.
Impact: This change to proof burden objectives to protect religious freedom rights together with the protection against exploitation and pressure. Several critics disclose that the new proof burden regulation might develop into unwanted meddling while charging genuine religions conversion seekers with too much responsibility. Some believe that this provision holds the potential to become an instrument for targeting minority religious communities alongside couples engaged in interfaith marriages.
FIR Lodging
Family members can file First Information Reports (FIRs) against unlawful conversions directly with the police under the provisions of the bill. The legal ability to file FIRs belongs to parents and siblings as well as spouses and children who are related to the person who converted their faith. With this addition families gain the right to file legal charges when they suspect someone has been forced or tricked to change their religion. The bill establishes a new system which grants permission to closely connected individuals of the victim to file an FIR during instances of coercive conversion practices. The police must thoroughly examine the reported matter and enforce justice after receiving an FIR.
Penalties
The act defines severe punishment systems for all parties found responsible for conducting unlawful conversions. Lawmakers have established different sets of punishments which depend on both the seriousness of the offense and the identity of the perpetrators. Key penalties include:
- The law penalizes unlawful conversion facilitators with one to five years of imprisonment coupled with Rs 15,000 minimum fine.
- A conviction involving conversion of a minor victim or a woman or a person who belongs to SC/ST communities results in harsher penalties that include two to ten years of imprisonment together with a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.
- The law enforces severe punishment against mass conversion cases through a prison sentence which can reach up to ten years alongside a minimum penalty of Rs 50,000.
- The law requires individuals who pursue conversion through free choice to notify their plans ahead of time to the District Magistrate i.e. sixty days before. The failure to submit such a declaration in advance may lead to imprisonment for up to three years along with a minimum fine of Rs 10000.
These specific rules within the legislation establish barriers to prevent illegal religious conversions while promoting honest and moral practices in Rajasthan's conversion process. The state demonstrates its dedication to defend citizens from forced conversion by maintaining their religious freedom rights through this legislation.
Mass Conversion
Organizations and groups coordinate the unified religious change of numerous people then it is referred as mass conversions. The bill lays down severe punishment systems for people who facilitate illegal mass conversions using methods that include force, fraud, coercion or allurement. Mass conversion violations lead to severe punishments consisting of imprisonment between three to ten years combined with a minimum fine of Rs 50,000. The strict punishment system exists to stop groups from performing deceptive large-scale conversions. The legislation addresses mass conversion cases to safeguard vulnerable communities while making sure religious conversions only occur at the free choice of individuals.
Voluntary Conversion
The bill details the conversion process for voluntary religious transitions which requires submission of statements to District Magistrates at least sixty days ahead of the conversion. All potential converters need to file a declaration with the District Magistrate before proceeding at least two months ahead. The declaration includes personal information together with details about conversion to a new religious faith and contact information regarding the conversion facilitator. The requirements exist to show transparency as well as enable authorities to validate conversion legitimacy.
Any individual who fails to complete the mandatory pre-conversion declaration may face imprisonment for up to three years and Rs 10,000 as the least fine. Each converted person needs to stand in front of the District Magistrate at least 21 days after conversion to verify that neither pressure nor coercion played a role in the decision.
Legislation against Unlawful Religious Conversions in India
A growing number of state legislations within India have been passed to combat unlawful religious conversions. Statutes identified as "anti-conversion laws" and "Freedom of Religion Acts" has spread throughout multiple states with the purpose of blocking involuntary religious conversion along with deceptive and pay-for-religion conversion practices. An analysis of comparable laws across different states along with their implementation results are mentioned below:
Similar Legislation in Other States
- In India the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act from 1968 became an early installation of anti-conversion legislation that stands as among the first such laws in the nation. The law blocks religious conversion operations when performed by force or fraud or with promises of benefits. All persons who wish to change their religion need to provide advance warning to district authorities per legal requirements.
- Religious conversions in Uttarakhand come under legal prohibition when individuals engage in force or inducement or fraudulent activities before their conversion. Before conversion takes place people need to get approval from district authorities.
- The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 together with its corresponding law of 2021 works to stop religious conversions when these conversions result from forcible methods or the use of allurement or fraud. According to the law every individual must obtain permission from district authorities before undertaking any conversion.
- This law in Gujarat prohibits any religious conversion that happens due to force or fraud or through inducement. All individuals are required to notify district authorities at least two months in advance before converting under the law.
- According to the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2006 the province bans every religious conversion which derives from force or fraudulent practices or inducement. Every person seeking religious conversion must obtain approval from district authorities prior to the conversion.
Effectiveness of Anti-Conversion Laws
This topic has sparked different perspectives on how effective these conversion prevention laws actually prove to be. These laws serve the purpose of safeguarding individuals from both blatant pressure and deceptive methods related to religious conversion. The laws exist according to this viewpoint because they protect community peace and stop unacceptable religious conversion practices.
These religious regulations face opposition because they are said to restrict individual religious liberties as well as personal freedom. Both these critics stress the laws get manipulated to persecute religious minorities through their unjust use of restricting freedom of faith selection. Because of unclear terms such as "force" and "fraud" combined with "allurement" in these regulations there are fears they could be misused.
All individuals need to obtain permission from district authorities before conversion primarily raises concerns regarding the excessive bureaucratic procedures. The demand to seek district authority approval prior to conversion stands as an infringement upon the religious freedom rights protected by the Indian constitution according to critics.
Challenges and Legal Issues
The legal system in India has challenged multiple times the existence of anti-conversion laws throughout the country. The Supreme Court of India established that freedom to propagate religion needs limited boundaries to sustain public order along with morality and health integrity. There exists on-going debate about how to correctly define "reasonable restrictions". There exist complaints about how these laws could breach international human rights conventions. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has shown worries regarding how these laws affect religious freedom together with personal liberty standards.