New, ‘Stricter’ Rajasthan Anti-Conversion Bill Has Provision For Life Term But ‘Ghar Wapsi’ Exempted

Jaipur: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan on Sunday (August 31) announced that it will amend its proposed anti-conversion bill to include ‘more stringent’ provisions in it, including life imprisonment as the maximum punishment for illegal religious conversion.

However, these provisions would not apply to those who convert back to their original religion, a senior minister of the Rajasthan government said on Sunday.

Earlier, in February this year, the state government had tabled The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, in the state Assembly. The punishments for the various offences listed in the bill ranged from imprisonment of one year to 10 years along with monetary fines. It also provided authorities protection from prosecution or any other legal proceedings for anything that is done in pursuance of the proposed law.

However, the Rajasthan government on Sunday said that the earlier bill will now be withdrawn and a new draft of Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025 will be introduced in the session of the state Assembly – starting from Monday (September 1) – with more stringent provisions.

Provisions of bill won’t apply to ‘Ghar Wapsi’

The new draft of the bill was approved in the meeting of the council of ministers held on Sunday and chaired by Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, said an official state government release in Hindi.

“Religious conversion has been specifically defined (in the bill). Mostly it includes misrepresentation, wrong information, coercion, means of fraud, undue influence, forcible preaching, through temptation and converting a person through marriage or on pretext of it and other deceitful means,” said law and legal affairs minister Jogaram Patel on Sunday in Hindi after the meeting of the council of ministers.

“These acts will come under the definition of religious conversion. However, if someone returns to his original religion, which we call Ghar Wapsi, then these provisions won’t apply to him,” Patel added.

‘Ghar Wapsi’ – literally, ‘homecoming’ – is the Sangh Parivar-led programme of religious conversion to Hinduism from Islam, Christianity, and other religions in India. The Sangh’s position is that all Indians were originally Hindus and thus this conversion will necessarily mean a ‘return’.

Patel said that if a person marries only for the purpose of illegal religious conversion, then such marriage will be void. As per the proposed law, the crimes will be non-bailable and cognisable.

New bill will have maximum punishment of life imprisonment, fine up to Rs 50 lakh

While in the earlier draft bill tabled in the assembly in February, the punishments for the various offences listed ranged from imprisonment of one to 10 years along with monetary fines, the government release said that in the new bill, there will be provisions for imprisonment above 10 years including of 14 years, 20 years and life imprisonment in certain cases.

Similarly, while the earlier version of the bill had a maximum fine of Rs 50,000, the new bill will have provisions for much higher fines ranging up to Rs 50 lakh, said the government release. If a group of people are involved in converting others, then there is a provision of a minimum of 20 years of imprisonment and maximum of life imprisonment along with a fine up to Rs 25 lakh, which is increased to Rs 50 lakh and life imprisonment for repeat offenders.

“If these offences are perpetrated by any organisation, then its registration will be cancelled, if it gets some monetary grant from the government then it will be stopped and there will be recovery. If such activities are being done inside the premises of any property, it will be confiscated and the accused would lose the ownership rights on it. As a result of the property being under the government, it can demolish it or use it,” said Patel.

Patel added that a provision of minimum 10 years and maximum 20 years imprisonment and minimum fine of Rs. 20 lakh has been proposed for receiving money from foreign institutions and illegal institutions for religious conversion.

“The burden of proof will be on the person who says that he has not committed the crime. The trial of such cases would be heard by the sessions court and won’t be a trial in a magisterial court. If an accused files a petition for bail, the court can take a decision on granting bail only after hearing the side of the government,” said law minister Patel.

In recent years, several instances have come up wherein people from marginalised communities have been falsely charged for converting people and were later acquitted by courts. Similarly, several cases have come up wherein interfaith couples have been persecuted under the pretext of 'love jihad'.

Congress accuses BJP of  'diverting attention', ‘polluting atmosphere of brotherhood’

Reacting to the development, the opposition Congress has slammed the BJP, accusing it of bringing the revised anti-conversion bill to divert attention from important issues and of polluting the atmosphere of the state.

"Rajasthan has always been a land of communal harmony. Here people of all religions including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists live in love and brotherhood. To pollute this atmosphere of brotherhood and to get only political mileage, there is an attempt to divert attention from inflation, unemployment, corruption, broken roads, collapsing school buildings by bringing the anti-conversion law,” Rajasthan leader of opposition Tikaram Jully said in a statement on Sunday.

Jully added that in response to a question asked by a BJP MLA in the assembly about the number of registered cases of 'love jihad', the government has replied that no case has been registered in the state in relation to 'love jihad'.

“In such a situation, the government's intention is clear that this bill will be brought only to divert attention from important issues so that the atmosphere of the state can be polluted,” said Jully in the statement in Hindi.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.