BHOPAL: Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s cabinet approved MP Dharm Swatantra Vidheyak 2020 (MP Freedom of Religion bill). It will be presented to the assembly in the next winter session beginning Monday. MP would be the second state after UP to have such a law, once the bill is approved in the assembly.
What distinguishes the bill from the Public Ministry is a provision of maintenance for the victim and her child. The “burden of proof” falls on the defendant, and the crime will be recognizable and will not be subject to bail, which means that the police can arrest without a warrant.
Speaking to the media after the cabinet meeting, Interior Minister Narottam Mishra He said the MP’s bill is stricter, with longer prison terms. It will replace the Religious Freedom Act of 1968. “Having a converted person from one religion to another by seduction, threats, force, marriage and the conspiracy has been sanctioned under this law. Arrangements have been made for the parents of the victim or an organization to file a complaint, after which the police will launch an investigation, ”said Mishra.
“Such marriages, made with the intention of conversion, it will be annulled, “said the Interior Minister, adding that the victim’s relatives should approach a family court with a request for this.
A child born of such an annulled marriage will be entitled to living expenses and will inherit both parental and maternal property. Once a marriage is annulled, the converted person will be considered to have reverted to their parental religion.
Under the proposed bill, anyone found guilty of forcibly converting someone else will be imprisoned from one year to five years and fined 25,000 rupees. If the victim is a minor, female or belongs to a SC / ST community, the prison term will be between two and 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000.
If a person violates the law while hiding his religious identity, the jail term will be three to 10 years and the fine will be 50,000 rupees, Mishra added. Mass conversions (of two or more people) carry a more severe punishment: five to 10 years in prison plus a fine of at least 1 lakh rupees. In case of recidivism, the prison sentence will be up to 10 years. In case one wishes to convert voluntarily, the converting priest must inform the district magistrate two months in advance. If he does not, he will be imprisoned for three to five years and fined 50,000 rupees.
Professional MP speaker Rameshwar Sharma had met UP CM Yogi Adityanath earlier this month to discuss the characteristics of the law in UP.
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