Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021

In News 

• Recently, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 was cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet.

Major Highlights of the Bill

• Declaration of Marriage Null and Void: 
  • The bill says that Any marriage which has happened for the sole purpose of unlawful conversion or vice-versa by the man of one religion with the woman of another religion, either by converting himself before or after marriage or by converting the woman before or after marriage, shall be declared as null and void by the family court or where the family court is not established, the court having jurisdiction to try such case, on a petition presented by either party thereto against the other party of the marriage.
• Conversion steps: 
  • The Bill insists that any person intending to convert to another religion will have to inform the district magistrate at least thirty days in advance. 
  • The person executing the conversion must also give a notice one month in advance, following which an inquiry will be conducted by the district magistrate through the police to establish the real intent of conversion.
    • After getting converted, the person has to again inform the district magistrate within 30 days after conversion and must appear before the district magistrate to confirm his/her identity.
      •  Not informing the district magistrate will lead to the conversion being declared null and void.
  • Post conversion, the district magistrate has to inform revenue authorities, the social welfare, minority, backward classes and other departments of the conversion, who will, in turn, take steps with respect to the entitlements of the person in terms of reservations and other benefits.
• Filing complaint:
  • Complaints of conversions can be filed by family members of a person who is getting converted, or any other person who is related to the person who is getting converted, or any person associated with the person getting converted.
• Punishments: 
  • The Bill proposes a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment for forcible conversion of persons from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe communities, minors and women to another religion. 
  • The offence of conversion is cognisable and non-bailable and will attract a jail term of three to five years and a fine of ?25,000 for people found violating the law and a jail term of three to 10 years, and a fine of ?50,000 for people converting minors, women and persons from the SC and ST communities. 
    • The Bill also envisages a compensation of ?5 lakh to victims of forced conversions.

Aims and Objectives 

• It aims to prohibit conversion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, the allurement of marriage, coercion and undue influence.
• Protection of the right to freedom of religion
  • It provides for the protection of the right to freedom of religion and the prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another.

Criticism 

• The bill is against the Constitution as there is an attempt to disturb peace in the state and divert public attention for political reasons.
  • It violates fundamental rights and the constitution. It violates an individual’s rights.

Which other states have similar Legislation?

• Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have laws restricting religious conversion. Odisha was the first State to enact anti-conversion legislation, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967. Madhya Pradesh enacted the same the following year.
  • Penalties for breaching the laws can range from monetary fines to imprisonment, with punishments ranging from one to three years of imprisonment and fines from ?5,000 to ?50,000. 
  • Some of the laws provide for stiffer penalties if women, children, or members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) are being converted. 

How has Parliament handled anti-conversion bills?

• After independence, Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills which were not enacted for want of majority approval. 
  • In post-Independent India, the first Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill was introduced in 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion with government officials.”
    •  This bill was rejected.

• This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill in 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ which, as per the definition in the Bill, included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,” and the Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”
• These bills fell through for want of majority approval.

Source: TH