Last Updated on 31/07/2024 by wccexam Desk
The old law to prevent so-called ‘love jihad’ in Uttar Pradesh has been made more stringent. The new law provides for punishment up to life imprisonment. The amount of fine has also been doubled in the new law.
The ‘Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2024’, which tightens the old law, has also been passed by the Assembly.
According to the proposed bill, if any person converts or tries to convert the religion of any woman, minor or any person by threatening, luring, marrying or promising to marry, then it will be considered a serious crime.
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If there was an old law then why did a new one come into existence?
There is a law in UP to prevent forced conversion since 2020. But after four years, the government has again amended it and introduced a new bill.
The government says that the existing law is not enough to stop the conversion and mass conversion of SC-ST, women, minors and disabled people.
The UP government has amended the anti-conversion law at a time when just a few weeks ago the Allahabad High Court had said that in many parts of the state, SC-ST and economically weaker people were being converted to Christianity on a large scale.
Then the High Court had made a big comment saying that if such conversions are not stopped then one day the majority population will become a minority.
What will change now?
In the proposed bill, the scope of the person who can lodge an FIR has been expanded. Under the current law, only the victim’s parents, siblings or anyone with whom he has a blood relation could lodge an FIR. But in the proposed bill, ‘any person’ has been added. That is, now any person can lodge an FIR in a case of forced conversion.
The new bill also provides that if a person threatens or intimidates any person with the intention of conversion, makes a false promise of marriage to a woman, trafficks a minor, woman or person or attacks their property, then on being found guilty, he will be punished with a minimum of 20 years of imprisonment, which can be extended to life imprisonment.
Apart from this, the new bill also provides for jail and fine for conversion by taking foreign funding. The bill states that if a person takes funding from a foreign or illegal organization for illegal conversion, then if found guilty, he can be jailed for 7 to 14 years and fined up to Rs 10 lakh.
How much did the punishment change?
1. In case of conversion
– What was before: The punishment was 1 to 5 years in prison. The fine was Rs 15,000.
– What will happen now: Provision of 3 to 10 years of jail sentence. Fine increased to 50 thousand rupees.
2. In case of Women-SC-ST
– What was before: In case of a minor, woman or SC-ST, the punishment was 2 to 10 years. A fine of 20 thousand rupees was imposed.
– What will happen now: Now the person’s physical and mental health has also been included in this. The punishment will be 5 to 14 years of imprisonment. A fine of Rs 1 lakh will also be imposed.
3. In case of mass conversion
– What was before: There was a jail term of 3 to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed.
– What will happen now: There is a provision of 7 to 14 years of jail sentence. In case of mass conversion, a fine of Rs 1 lakh will be imposed.
How much punishment for alleged love jihad?
Till now, there was a provision of 10 years of jail sentence for marrying by threatening or luring and then converting. But now if a person converts a woman by threatening, luring or promising to marry her, then if found guilty, a minimum of 20 years of jail sentence has been provided. This punishment can be extended up to life imprisonment.
The bail conditions are also very stringent
According to the proposed bill, the fine amount will be spent on the medical treatment and rehabilitation of the victim. Apart from this, if the court wishes, it can impose a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh on the accused, which will be given to the victim as compensation.
Apart from this, the conditions for bail have also been made stricter in the new bill. Conditions like money laundering and UAPA have been added for bail in the new bill.
If the new bill becomes law, the accused will have to fulfill two conditions for bail. First, the public prosecutor will be given a chance to oppose his bail. And second, the court should feel that the accused is not guilty of this type of crime and will not commit any crime while on bail.
Now what?
At present, this bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly. Since Uttar Pradesh also has a Legislative Council, it is necessary to pass this bill in the Legislative Council as well. After this, after the approval of the Governor, it will become a law.