Article 25 of the Constitution – Under which every person in India has the freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion. But what if it is forced?
A similar case has come to light from Fatehpur where some activists pretend that the process of conversion was going on inside the church and they got information about it from the local people, which they informed the local administration. They also medicate that 70 to 80 people are present inside, where some are from the Christian community, and some are from other communities. After which the local police arrested 26 people.
What does the FIR related to the case say?
In this case, the local police have registered an FIR, in which there is an allegation of creating enmity and hatred among people based on religion. Sections related to the law of conversion were also included in the FIR. But according to the police, the court quashed these sections as none of the converts or their relatives was complainants in the case.
The activists say that all this was going on for 34 days and the conversion would have been completed in 40 days. On this, “the pastor of the church told that we have a 40-day program before Easter. He had a program in the church on the day the incident happened. Some people suspected that in this program people were being brainwashed and converted to the religion. Now its investigation is going on and evidence is being collected.”
Now the question arises whether the police have found evidence of brainwashing – in response to this question, DSP Dinesh Mishra says, “We have met. Some people used to come and go there.”
We have known everyone but what is the truth, only the coming day will tell, but if we must know what the law says on this
According to the Law Against Religion Prohibition Act 2021, there is a provision of strict punishment in Uttar Pradesh for illegally converting religion or marrying by hiding identity. Under this, notice will have to be given 2 months before the change of religion before marriage.
According to the law, for conversion from one religion to another, the parties concerned have to make a declaration before the prescribed authority that the conversion is purely voluntary. The people concerned have to be told that there is no inducement or pressure of any kind, anywhere, on them.
Provisions have been made in the law on all aspects of conversion. According to this, the parties concerned will have to inform the district magistrate two months in advance of the prescribed format, if they are desirous of converting. Violation of this can be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years. The minimum fine for this offence has been fixed at Rs 10,000.
It will be considered a cognizable offence if the conversion is done under pressure or by lying or in any other fraudulent manner.
It will be non-bailable and the trial will be held in the Court of First Class Magistrate. If convicted, the convict will have to undergo imprisonment of not less than one year and a maximum of five years. Along with this, a fine of at least Rs 15,000 will also have to be paid.
