Discussion on Anti-Conversion Bill on Thursday: Karnataka Assembly Speaker

The legal validity of the ‘freedom of religion’ law is extremely questionable and the proposed new law is under fire.

(Photo: The Quint)

Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said on Wednesday, 22 December, that the discussion on 'anti-conversion bill' will be held tomorrow, 23 December.

Kageri said, “The discussion on the anti-conversion bill will be taken up tomorrow at 10 am.”

The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, is supposed to prevent “unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or marriage.”

However, while the legal validity of the ‘freedom of religion’ bill remains largely questionable, the proposed bill has come under fire by Opposition members, who have termed it "draconian."

What Does the Bill Propose?

The bill, which was granted the state Cabinet's approval on Monday, 20 December, seeks to prohibit conversion from one religion to another by means that it categorises as fraudulent.

It adds that any aggrieved person, parents, brother, sister or any other person related by blood, marriage or adoption can file a First Information Report (FIR) against such an act.

The bill provides for the imposition of stringent punishment for violators of the anti-conversion law, with different sentences if the person who converts belongs to the general category and if they belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

While an offender involved in converting a general category person will face a jail term of three-five years, and a fine of Rs 25,000, a violator involved in the conversion of a person belonging to the SC or ST category will be penalised with a jail term of 3-10 years, and a fine of Rs 50,000. The latter punishment will also hold in the case of conversion of women and minors.

Under the act, a person wilfully converting to another faith will be required to inform the district commissioner (DC) of the conversion two months in advance, following which the DC is liable to conduct an inquiry into the purpose behind the decision.

After the bill was tabled, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah had said, "How can you introduce the bill? We oppose the introduction of the bill in itself. It is a violation of our Constitutional Rights. This is a draconian law."