Karnataka Protection of Right to Religion Bill, 2021 Approved by Cabinet

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The anti-conversion bill titled 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Religion Bill, 2021' was approved by the Karnataka Cabinet on Monday, 20 December.

The bill is likely to be tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.

It seeks to prohibit conversion from one religion to another by means that it lists as fraudulent.

A copy of the the draft bill notes:

“No person shall convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person from one religion to another by use of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire for conversions."

The bill provides for the imposition of stringent punishment for violators of the anti-conversion law, with different sentences for persons belonging to the general category and those involved in converting persons belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Schedule Tribe categories.

While an offender converting those in the general category will face a jail term of three to 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 three to 10 years, and a fine of Rs 50,000. The latter punishment will also hold in the case of conversion of women and minors.

A person who wishes to wilfully convert to another faith will be required to inform the district commissioner two months in advance, upon which the DC will conduct an inquiry into the purpose behind the conversion.

Further, the bill also brings under scrutiny the services of all institutions, including “educational institutions, orphanages, old-age homes, hospitals, religious missionaries, NGOs and other such organisations.”