In opposition protests, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Religious Freedom Rights Act of 2021 on Thursday, commonly referred to as the Anti-Conversion Act. It prohibits conversion from one religion to another through false statements, coercion, fraud, temptation, or marriage. The bill will now be submitted to the Karnataka State Legislative Council.

The bill stipulates: “No one shall directly or otherwise convert any other person from one religion to another through the use of false statements, force, undue influence, coercion, temptation or any fraudulent means or through marriage, nor No one shall instigate or conspire to convert.”

However, it provides an exemption for people who “reconverted to his previous religion” because “the person shall not be regarded as a conversion under this law.”

According to the proposed legislation, complaints about conversion can be filed by family members or anyone else related to the convert. For violations of the general category of persons, three to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 rupees have been proposed, and three to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 rupees have been proposed. Those who convert minors, women, or people from the SC/ST community.

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The bill also envisages the payment of 500,000 rupees (according to a court order) to the conversion victims of those who try to convert, and double penalties for repeated crimes. Marriage for the purpose of conversion may be declared invalid by the family court or the competent court. The crime of conversion is considered an identifiable and non-bailable crime that can be tried in a district court under the proposed law.

Anyone who intends to convert to another religion after the law takes effect must notify the magistrate two months in advance. The draft bill says that the person making the conversion must provide one month’s notice, and the magistrate must investigate the true purpose of the conversion through the police.

If the authorities are not notified, converts will be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment, and converts will be sentenced to 1 to 5 years’ imprisonment.

Complete News Source : The Indian EXPRESS