GUJARAT ASSEMBLY PASSES FREEDOM OF RELIGION AMENDMENT BILL 2021

3rd April 2021

Recently, Gujarat Vidhan Sabha passed the GUJARAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2021, with a majority. Now, Gujarat has become the third state to make laws against LOVE JIHAD after the states of UP and MP.

This bill seeks to penalize forcible religious conversations by marriage. The amended bill provides a minimum of 3 years in case of conversion of an adult individual and 4 years (up to 7) of a minor woman or an SC/ST for forced or fraudulent conversion through marriage.

The original Act only prohibited forcible conversion by use of force or by fraudulent means, however, the amended bill proposed to prohibit any act like forcible conversion by marriage. The Bill also gives power in the hand of the aggrieved parents, siblings or any other blood-related person to lodge an FIR against the person committing an offence as per this Act. Moreover, the Bill places the burden of proof on the person accused of committing the conversion.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal

PC: Outlook