What Happened
- The Maharashtra government tabled the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 (also titled Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026) in the state legislature, aimed at prohibiting unlawful religious conversions.
- The bill bans conversions effected through allurement, force, misrepresentation, undue influence, fraudulent means, or promises of marriage ("love jihad" provisions).
- Key penalties: up to 7 years' imprisonment and a fine of ₹1–5 lakh for unlawful conversion; stricter penalties if the victim is a minor, woman, mentally ill person, SC/ST individual, or if mass conversion is involved.
- Procedural requirements: persons intending to convert must give 60 days' advance notice to district authorities; post-conversion registration must be done within 25 days.
- FIRs can be filed by the converted person, their parents, siblings, or other relatives; police can also take suo motu cognizance.
- A child born from a marriage arising out of an "unlawful" conversion will be considered to belong to the religion of the mother before the conversion/marriage.
- Maharashtra joins a growing list of states with anti-conversion legislation; over 12 states currently have such laws.
Static Topic Bridges
Article 25 and the Constitutional Scope of Religious Conversion
Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees to all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise, and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, and health. The right to "propagate" religion has been the central point of constitutional debate regarding anti-conversion laws.
- In Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), the Supreme Court held that the right to propagate does not include the right to convert others. Propagation was interpreted as sharing one's beliefs through persuasion, not inducing conversions.
- The Court in that case upheld the constitutional validity of the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 1968, and the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967 — the earliest state anti-conversion laws.
- Conversion effected through force, fraud, or allurement is held to violate the "freedom of conscience" of the person being converted.
- The Supreme Court is separately examining a challenge to the constitutional validity of anti-conversion laws in multiple states, with the matter pending before a Constitution Bench.
Connection to this news: The Maharashtra bill follows the Stainislaus precedent by targeting coercive conversion rather than voluntary conversion. However, provisions like the 60-day prior notice requirement and marriage-related provisions are being challenged as extending beyond the constitutional mandate and potentially violating the right to privacy under Article 21.
State Anti-Conversion Laws — Legislative History and Spread
Orissa enacted India's first anti-conversion law in 1967 (Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967), followed by Madhya Pradesh (1968). After a gap, a new wave of such legislation emerged in the 2000s and 2010s.
- States with anti-conversion laws as of 2026: Orissa (1967), Madhya Pradesh (1968), Arunachal Pradesh (1978), Chhattisgarh (2000), Gujarat (2003), Himachal Pradesh (2006), Rajasthan (2008 and 2021), Jharkhand (2017), Uttarakhand (2018), Uttar Pradesh (2020), Haryana (2022), Karnataka (2022), and now Maharashtra (2026 — proposed).
- Several states added "love jihad" provisions (targeting conversions through marriage) in 2020–2022 without a specific central law.
- The Central government has no standalone anti-conversion legislation; Article 25 is a concurrent subject for religious freedom, but the CrPC and IPC already penalise forcible conversion under general law.
Connection to this news: Maharashtra's bill is part of a sustained legislative trend, with states — particularly those governed by the BJP or its allies — enacting Freedom of Religion Acts with progressively stiffer penalties and broader definitions of unlawful conversion.
Federalism and State Legislation on Religious Matters
Under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, law and order, public order, and social welfare are State List subjects. Religious institutions and endowments are also a State List subject (Entry 28). This gives state governments significant latitude to legislate on religious conversions as a public order matter.
- "Religion" itself is not in any list and is dealt with directly under fundamental rights (Articles 25–28).
- State legislatures can make laws restricting the right to propagate religion in the interest of public order under Article 25(1).
- The Concurrent List includes criminal law (Entry 1) and marriage and divorce (Entry 5), meaning central laws like the IPC and the Special Marriage Act coexist with state legislation on conversions.
- Constitutional challenges to anti-conversion laws typically argue that provisions on prior notice to district authorities, or conditions on marriage-related conversions, violate the right to privacy (Article 21) and equality (Article 14).
Connection to this news: Maharashtra's bill invokes the state's public order powers and follows the pattern of other state laws. However, the marriage-related provisions and the clause on religion of children born from such marriages are novel additions that may face constitutional challenges on grounds of privacy and discrimination.
Key Facts & Data
- Bill name: Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 / Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026
- Maximum sentence: 7 years' imprisonment
- Maximum fine: ₹5 lakh
- Aggravated offences: conversion of minors, women, SC/ST, mentally ill persons, mass conversion — stricter penalties
- Prior notice: 60 days to district authority before conversion
- Post-conversion registration: within 25 days
- First Indian state to enact anti-conversion law: Orissa (1967)
- SC judgment upholding state anti-conversion laws: Rev. Stainislaus v. State of MP (1977)
- Approximate count of states with such laws: over 12 as of 2026