What Is The UP Govt's 'Love Jihad' Law And All About The Changes Made In The Legislation

The legislation provides for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for 'love jihad' in the state, making the law stricter in cases of fraudulent or forced conversion. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holds cabinet meeting at his residence, in Lucknow.

Source : PTI

The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government on Tuesday passed amendments to the love jihad law making the provisions regarding inter-faith conversions more stringent. The UP Legislative Assembly today passed significant amendments to the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act-2021 in the state Assembly, doubling the punishment for the already-defined crimes.

The legislation provides for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for 'love jihad' in the state, making the law stricter in cases of fraudulent or forced conversion. 

The ruling BJP welcomed the law as a step in the right direction while the Samajwadi Party termed it divisive. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna introduced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the House on Monday. 

Here is all you need to know about the proposed law: 

• Under the proposed law, conversion done only for marriage is invalid while conversion by lying and cheating is considered a crime.
• As per the existing law, the maximum punishment for marrying a woman with a concealed identity and converting her religion was 10 years with a fine of Rs 50,000. With the 'revised' law, the guilty will be subjected to life imprisonment.  
• It has also been proposed that if a person threatens, attacks, marries or promises to marry or conspires for it, or trafficks a woman, minor or anyone with the intention of conversion, then his crime will be placed in the most serious category. In such crimes, there is a provision of 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment.
• In the case of voluntary conversion, the magistrate would have to be informed two months in advance. The violation of the rule could lead to a jail term of 6 months to 3 years and a fine of not less than Rs 10,000.
• There is also a provision of imprisonment, ranging from 1 to 5 years with a fine of Rs 15,000 for forced or fraudulent religious conversion.
• Under the new provisions, any person can now register an FIR in conversion cases. Earlier, to give information or complaint about the case, the presence of the victim, her parents, or siblings was necessary, according to PTI.
• It has also been mandated that such cases of forced conversions will not be heard by any court below the Sessions Court and along with this, the bail plea will not be considered without giving an opportunity to the public prosecutor.  
• In case of unlawful conversion involving minors or women from the SC or ST communities, the accused can face a jail term of 3-10 years and a fine of Rs 25,000.
• All the crimes under the amended Act have been made non-bailable. 

Background Of Law

The issue of “love jihad” has been on UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's agenda for long, even before he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. 

Earlier in 2020, the UP government brought an ordinance for curbing forced conversion in and later the bill was passed by both houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, the legislation came into force in 2021.