Karnataka Cabinet on Monday approved the anti-conversion bill titled ‘Karnataka Protection of Right to Religion Bill, 2021’. The bill, which is likely to be tabled in the State Assembly on Tuesday, seeks to prohibit conversion from one religion to another by means that it lists as fraudulent.
The Anti-Conversion Bill’s draft reads: “No person shall convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person from one religion to another by use of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire for conversions.”
The bill conditions stringent punishment to be imposed for violators of the anti-conversion law, with various sentences for persons belonging to the general category, the Scheduled Caste or Schedule Tribe categories.
While a violator involved in conversion of people belonging to general category will face a jail term of three to five years, and a fine of Rs 25,000, an offender converting those in the SC or ST category, including women and minors will be penalised with a jail term of three to 10 years, and a fine of Rs 50,000.
Meanwhile, if a person wants to wilfully convert to another religion, then he will be required to inform the district commissioner two months prior, upon which the DC will conduct an inquiry into the purpose behind the conversion.
The bill further brings under scrutiny the services of all institutions, such as “educational institutions, old-age homes, orphanages, hospitals, religious missionaries, NGOs and other such organisations.”
