The Uttar Pradesh Assembly is on Tuesday scheduled to take up for consideration and passing a bill that seeks to amend the Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act to increase the maximum punishment to life imprisonment and fine of Rs 5 lakh for violators.
Under the amended provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2024, if a person threatens, attacks, marries or promises to marry or conspires for it, or traffics a woman, minor or anyone with the intention of conversion, then his crime will be placed in the most serious category.
The amended bill provides for 20-year imprisonment or life imprisonment in such cases.
Earlier, a maximum punishment of 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000 was provided under it.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna introduced the bill in the House on Monday.
Under the amended provision, now any person can register an FIR in conversion cases. Earlier, to give information or complaint in the case, the presence of the victim, parents, siblings was necessary, but now the scope has been increased. Now anyone can give information about it to the police in writing.
It has been proposed that such cases will not be heard by any court below sessions court and along with this, the bail plea will not be considered without giving an opportunity to the public prosecutor. Also, all the crimes in this have been made non-bailable.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had taken this initiative with the intention of curbing 'love jihad', a term confined by Hindu outfit for alleged forcible conversion.
An ordinance was issued for this in November 2020 and later, after the bill was passed by both the houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act-2021 came into force.
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