Bengaluru: On Monday December 20, the Karnataka Cabinet has approved a bill that would make religious conversions illegal in the State. The Karnataka Protection of Right to Religious Freedom Bill, 2021, is expected to be tabled in the State Assembly on Tuesday December 21.
The draft bill includes a provision for people who participate in mass conversion to be imprisoned for three to ten years and fined Rs. 1 lakh.
Further, a three-year minimum punishment is being proposed. If a person converts from Scheduled Caste (SC) to a minority, he or she may lose government benefits, including previous reservations. However, in the religion to which one converts, one is more likely to receive the advantages to which he or she is entitled.
The draft further states that the ‘religious converter’ must provide the District Magistrate or any other officer not below the rank of additional District Magistrate one month’s notice in ‘form-II’ of the conversion.
According to the draft, marriages made for the sole aim of unlawful conversion or vice versa shall be considered void in circumstances of inter-religious marriage.