The Maharashtra government on Friday introduced the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 in the state assembly. Under the proposed law, those involved in illegal conversions on the pretext of marriage will be punished with imprisonment for seven years and will also be liable to a fine of Rs. ₹1 lakh.
An offense involving a minor, a person of unsound mind or a woman or a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste and a Scheduled Tribe shall be punishable with imprisonment for seven years and a fine of ₹5 lakhs.
Mass conversions will be punishable by imprisonment for seven years and a fine of Rs ₹5 lakhs. Individual repeat offenders can receive up to 10 years in prison and a fine ₹5 crores as per law.
What the law says – Key points
The bill makes it mandatory for the officer-in-charge of a police station to record a complaint lodged by any person.
The bill seeks to protect the constitutional right to freedom of religion while prohibiting conversions carried out by seduction, violence, misrepresentation, undue influence or fraudulent means under the bill.
Under the proposed law, no individual or institution will be allowed to convert or attempt to convert a person from one religion to another by offering gifts, money, employment, free education, the promise of marriage, a better lifestyle or divine healing, which are classified as “lure”.
The bill also prohibits conversions effected by marriage or promise of marriage if such acts involve inducement, coercion or fraud, according to the bill.
In a statement on the objects and reasons of the law, the government said incidents of violent and organized religious conversions have been reported in various parts of the country and vulnerable sections are often targeted for incentives.
While the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the right is subject to public order, morality and health and does not include the right to forcibly convert another person under the bill.
If enacted, Maharashtra will join states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand that have passed similar laws to regulate religious conversions.
“The aim is to protect the right to freedom of religion. It also aims to prohibit illegal religious conversions carried out by coercion, fraud, solicitation or marriage,” said Home Minister Pankaj Bhoyar, who introduced the bill in the assembly.
The bill defines coercion as the act of forcing a person or group to convert against their will, while mass conversion is the conversion of two or more people at the same time.
An illegal conversion is one effected by force, fraud, misrepresentation, coercion, undue influence or inducement.
The bill provides that no person or institution can convert or attempt to convert another person through seduction, coercion, fraud or misrepresentation, violence or threats, fraudulent means and undue influence.
The bill mandates that any person intending to convert from one religion to another, as well as any individual or institution conducting a conversion ceremony, must give at least 60 days notice to the appropriate authority in the prescribed form.
According to the draft law, the competent authority is the district magistrate or an official authorized by the state government.
On receipt of such notice, the competent authority shall publicly post the details of the proposed conversion on the notice board of its office as well as in the office of the municipal panchayat or local authority concerned and shall invite objections from the public within 30 days of its publication.
The bill further requires the converted person and the person or institution conducting the ceremony to submit a declaration to the relevant authority within 21 days of the conversion.
It also allows parents, siblings or relatives of a convert by blood, marriage or adoption to file a First Information Report (FIR) if they suspect illegal conversion and directs the police to register such complaints.
The burden of proof that the conversion was not carried out in contravention of the provisions of the Act will, under the proposed Act, be on whoever caused, aided or abetted the conversion.
The Bill states that the offenses under the proposed Act will be cognizable and non-compoundable, with the investigation to be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector.
The government has also proposed measures to support the rehabilitation of victims of illegal conversion and measures for the maintenance and care of children affected by such cases.
