What Happened
- The Maharashtra legislature passed the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026, making it one of the most comprehensive anti-conversion laws enacted by any state.
- The Bill prohibits religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, allurement, inducement, or marriage solemnised solely for the purpose of conversion.
- Standard offences attract up to 7 years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh; aggravated offences involving minors, women, persons of unsound mind, or SC/ST individuals attract the same imprisonment term but a higher fine of ₹5 lakh.
- Mass conversions and repeat offenders face up to 10 years of imprisonment.
- Any organisation or individual intending to conduct a conversion ceremony must notify the competent authority at least 60 days in advance; a post-conversion declaration must be made within 21 days.
- Marriages solemnised solely for unlawful conversion can be declared null and void by a court; children born of such marriages retain inheritance rights and maintenance protections under applicable personal law.
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated the Bill targets fraud-based conversions and is not directed against any religion; Shiv Sena (UBT) extended support.
Static Topic Bridges
Article 25 and the Right to Freedom of Religion
Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise, and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, and health. The word "propagate" — covering transmission of religious beliefs — was interpreted by the Supreme Court in the landmark Rev. Stanislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977) to not include the right to convert another person, but only to spread one's faith by exposition of its tenets.
- In Stanislaus (1977), a 5-judge bench upheld the constitutional validity of anti-conversion laws enacted by Madhya Pradesh and Odisha under Entry 1 of the State List (public order), distinguishing the right to "propagate" from a right to "convert."
- Article 25(2) allows the State to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political, or other secular activity associated with religious practice.
- The right under Article 25 is available to all persons (including non-citizens), not just citizens — unlike most other fundamental rights.
- Freedom of conscience is the foundational element: forcing or inducing conversion violates the freedom of conscience of the person being converted.
Connection to this news: The Maharashtra Bill directly applies the Stanislaus framework — targeting fraudulent conversions rather than voluntary ones — anchoring its constitutional validity in the long-settled position that the right to propagate does not extend to coercive proselytisation.
State Anti-Conversion Laws: Legislative Landscape
India has no central anti-conversion law, though bills have been introduced in Parliament. Multiple states have enacted their own freedom of religion acts under Entry 1 (Public Order) of the State List (Seventh Schedule). Odisha was the first to enact such a law in 1967 (the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967), followed by Madhya Pradesh (1968). More recent enactments include those in Uttar Pradesh (2021), Uttarakhand (2022), Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand.
- Odisha's 1967 Act and Madhya Pradesh's 1968 Act were the laws upheld in Stanislaus (1977).
- States with existing anti-conversion laws generally require prior notice to district authorities before conversions and post-conversion declarations.
- The UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021 introduced one of the strictest penalty regimes, with provisions specifically targeting "love jihad" (conversion by marriage).
- Maharashtra's Bill follows this trend but adds the 60-day advance notice and mass conversion provisions, making it among the most procedurally elaborate.
- Constitutionally, Entry 1 of the State List empowers states to legislate on "public order," which the Court used in Stanislaus to uphold such laws.
Connection to this news: Maharashtra's enactment adds one of India's largest and most economically significant states to the group with active anti-conversion legislation, intensifying the national debate over balancing religious liberty with protection from fraudulent practices.
Personal Laws, Marriage, and Constitutional Provisions
The Maharashtra Bill's provisions on nullifying marriages conducted for the purpose of facilitating conversions intersect with a complex area of personal law. Under Article 44 of the Constitution (a Directive Principle), the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Marriage and divorce are governed by personal laws (Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Indian Christian Marriage Act 1872, Muslim Personal Law Application Act 1937, etc.) and by the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
- Article 44 (Part IV — Directive Principles) is non-justiciable but has been repeatedly invoked by courts as an aspirational standard.
- The Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows inter-faith couples to marry without converting, providing a secular alternative.
- The provision making children of void marriages retain inheritance rights reflects the general principle under the Hindu Succession Act and its analogues: legitimacy of children is not affected by the invalidity of a marriage.
- Declaring a marriage null and void requires a court order; the Bill does not make such marriages automatically void but gives courts the power to void them on finding the conversion was the sole purpose.
Connection to this news: The marriage-nullification provision is the most legally contested part of the Bill, as it involves the intersection of constitutional rights (Articles 21, 25), personal law frameworks, and the right to choose a life partner recognised by the Supreme Court in Puttaswamy (2017) as part of the right to privacy.
Key Facts & Data
- Standard penalty: Up to 7 years imprisonment + ₹1 lakh fine
- Aggravated penalty (minors, women, SC/ST): Up to 7 years + ₹5 lakh fine
- Mass conversions / repeat offenders: Up to 10 years imprisonment
- Advance notice to authority: 60 days before conversion ceremony
- Post-conversion declaration: Within 21 days
- Rev. Stanislaus v. State of MP (1977) — Supreme Court upheld anti-conversion laws; Article 25 does not include right to convert
- First anti-conversion law: Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967
- Constitutional basis for state laws: Entry 1, State List, Seventh Schedule (Public Order)
- Article 25 — Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion
- Article 44 — Directive Principle: Uniform Civil Code
- States with anti-conversion laws: Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and now Maharashtra