The Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act

Uttarakhand · state statute

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The 2[Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful
Conversion of Religion Act, 2018]
[Uttarakhand Act N0: 28 of 2018]
An
Act
to provide freedom of religion by prohibition of conversion from one religion to
another by misrepresentation, force , undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any
fraudulent means or by marriage and for the matters incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by the Utt arakhand Legislative Assembly in the Sixty -ninth year of the
Republic of India, as follows:

Short title ,
extent and
commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the 2[Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion and
Prohibition of Unlawful conversion of Religion Act, 2018].
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Uttarakhand.
(3) 1[It shall come into force on such date as the Sta te Government may,
by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Definitions 2 In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Allurement” means and includes offer of any temptation in the form of
any gift or gratification or material benefit, either in cash or kind or
employment, free education in reputed school run by any religious body,
easy money, better lifestyle, divine pleasure or otherwise;
(b) “Convincing for conversion ” means to make one person agree to
renounce one’s religion and adopt another religion;
(c) “Force” includes a show of force or a threat of injury of any kind to the
person converted or sought to be converted or to any other person or
property including a threat of divine displeasure or social
excommunication;
(d) “Fraudulent” inclu des misrepresentation of any kind or any other
fraudulent contrivance;
(e) “Coercion” means compelling an individual to act against his will by the
use of psychological pressure or physical force causing bodily injury or
threat thereof;
(f) “Undue influence” means the unconscientious use by one person of his
power or influence over another in order to persuade the other to act in
accordance with the will of the person exercising such influence.
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1- See Official Gazette, Notification No. 54/xxxvi(3)/2019/36(1)/2018 dated 26 Feb,2019
2- Subs. by section 2 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.

(g) “Conversion” means renouncing one religion and adopting another ;
(h) “Minor” means a person under eighteen years of age;
1[(h h) “Mass Conversion” means where religion of two or more persons is
converted;
(hhh) “ Unlawful Conversion” means any conversion not in accordance with
law of the land;]
(i) “Religion” means any organized system of faith, belief, worship or
lifestyle, as prevailing in India or any part of it, and defined under any law
or custom for the time being in force;
(j) “Religious priest” means priest of any religion who performs
purification Sanskar or conversion ceremony of any religion and by
whatever name he is called such as pujari, pandit, mulla, maulvi, father
etc.,
(k) The words and expressions used in this Act and not defined in it but
defined in any other law for the time being in force in India or in State of
Uttarakhand shall have the same meaning assigned to them respectively.
Prohibition of
conversion from
one religion to
another religion
by
misrepresentation,
force, fraud,
undue influence,
coercion,
allurement or
marriage
3. 2[(1) No person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or
otherwise, any other person from one religion to another by use of
misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any
fraudulent means . No person shall abet, convince or conspire such
conversion.
Explanation: For the purposes of this sub -section conversion by
solemnization of marriage or relationship in the nature of marriage on
account of factors enumerated in this sub-section shall be deemed included.
(2)If any person re -converts to his immediate previous religion, the same
shall not be deemed to be a conversion under this Act.
Explanation: For the purpose of this sub -section immediate previous religion
means the religion in which the person had faith, belief or was practiced by
the person voluntarily and freely. ]
3[Person
competent to lodge
First Information
Report
4. Any aggrieved person , his/her parents, brother, sister, or any other person
who is related to him. her by blood, marriage or adoption may lodge a First
Information Report of such conversion which contravenes the provisi ons of
section3.]
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1- Inserted by section 3 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
2- Subs. by section 4 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
3.Subs by section 5 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
3

Punishment for
contravention of
provisions of
Section 3
5. 1[(1) Whoever contravenes the provisions of Section 3 shall, without prejudice
to any civil liability, be punished with imprisonment for a term, which shall
not be less than two year but which may extend to seven years and shall also
be liable to fine which shall not be less then rupees twenty five thousand:
Provided that whoever contravenes the provision s of section 3 in
respect of a minor, a woman or a person belonging to the Scheduled Caste or
Scheduled Tribe shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than two years but which may extend to ten years and shall also be
liable to fine which shall e not less than rupees twenty five thousand:
Provided further that whoever contravenes the provisions of section 3 in
the respect of mass conversion shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to ten
years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than r upees fifty
thousand.
(2) The Court shall also grant appropriate compensation payable by the
accused to victim of said conversion which may extend maximum to rupees
five lakh and shall be in addition to fine.
(3) Whoever having been previously convicted o f an offence under this Act is
again convicted of an offence punishable under this Act, shall be liable for
every such subsequent offence to punishment not exceeding double the
punishment provided therefore under this Act.]
Marriages done
for sole purpos e
of conversion to
be declared null
and void
6. 2[Any marriage done for sole purpose of unlawful conversion or vice-versa by
the man of one religion with the woman of another religion , either by
converting himself / herself before or after marriage , or by c onverting the
woman before or after marriage , shall be declared void by the Family Court or
where Family Court is not established, the Court having jurisdiction to try such
case on a petition presented by either party thereto against the other party of
the marriage :
Provided that all the provisions of section 8 and 9 shall apply for such
marriage to be solemnized.]
Court to which
petition shall be
presented
7. Every petition under section 6 shall be presented to the Family Court or where
Family Court is not established, the Court having jurisdiction to try such case
within the local limits-
(i) the marriage was solemnized; or
(ii) the respondent, at the time of the presentation of the petition, resides; or
(iii) the parties to the marriage last resided together; or
(iv) in case the wife is the petitioner, where she is residing on the date of
presentation of the petition.
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1-Subs by section 6 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
2- Subs by section 7 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
4

Declaration
before conversion
of religion and
pre-report about
purification
Sanskar
8. (1) One who desires to convert his religion, shall give a declaration at least
one month in advance, in the prescribed proforma, to the D istrict
Magistrate or the Executive Magistrate specially authorized by District
Magistrate that he wishes to convert his religion on his own and at his
free consent and without any force, coercion, undue influence or
allurement.
(2) The religious priest, who perf orms purification S anskar or conversion
ceremony for converting any person of one religion to another religion,
shall give one month's advance notice of such conversion, in the
prescribed proforma, to the District Magistrate or any other officer
appointed for that purpose by the District Magistrate of the district where
such ceremony is proposed to be performed.
(3) The District Magistrate, after receiving the information under sub-section
(1) and (2), shall get an enquiry conducted through police, with regard to
real intention, purpose and cause of that proposed religion conversion.
(4) Contravention of the Sub -section (1) and/or sub -section (2) shall have the
effect of rendering the said conversion, illegal and void.
1[(5) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months,
but may extend to three year and shall also be liable to fine which shall
not be less than rupees ten thousand.
(6) Whoever contravenes th e provisions of sub-section (2) shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year, but
may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not
be less than rupees twenty five thousand.]
2[Declaration po st
conversion of
religion
9. (1) The converted person shall send a declaration in the form prescribed within
sixty days of the date of conversion, to the District Magistrate of the District in
which converted person resides ordinarily.
(2) The District Ma gistrate shall exhibit a copy of declaration on the notice
board of the office till the date of confirmation.
(3) The said declaration shall contain the requisite details, i.e. the particulars of
the convert such as date of birth, permanent address and th e present place of
residence, father’s/ husband’s name, the religion to which the convert originally
belonged and the religion to which he has converted, the date and place of
conversion and nature of process gone through for conversion.

-------------------------------
1- Subs. by section 8 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.
2- subs. by section 9 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.

(4) The converted individual shall appear before the District Magistrate within
21 days from the date of sending/ filing the declaration to establish her/ his
identity and confirm the contents of the declaration.
(5) The District Magistrate shall record the facum of declaration and
confirmation in a register maintained for this purpose. If any objections are
notified, he may, simply record the m, i.e., the name and particulars of objectors
and nature of objection.
(6) Certified copies of declaration, confirmation and the extracts from the
register shall be furnished to the parties, who gave the declaration to his. her
authorized legal representative on his/ her request.
(7) The contravention of sub-section (1) to (4) shall have the effect of rendering
the said conversion illegal and void.]
Punishment for
violation of
provisions of Act
by an institution
or
organization
10. If any institution or organization violates the provisions of this Act, the person
or persons in charge of the affairs of the organization or institution, as the case
may be, shall be subject to punish ment as provided under section 5 and the
registration of the organization or institution under any law for the time being in
force may be cancelled after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing.
Prohibition on
accepting
donation or
contribution
11. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force,
no person or organization violating the provisions of this Act shall be allowed to
accept any donation or contribution of any kind from within the country or
abroad.
Parties to offence 12. When an offence is committed under this Act, each of the f ollowing shall be
deemed to have taken part in committing the offence and to be guilty of the
offence, and shall be charged as if he has actually committed it, that is to say,-
(i) Every person who actually does the act which constitutes the offence;
(ii) Every person who does or omits to do any act for the purpose of enabling or
aiding another person to commit the offence;
(iii) Every person who aids or abets another person in committing the offence;
(iv) Any person who counsels or procures any other person to commit the
offence.
Burden of Proof 13. The burden of prove as to whether a religious conversion was not effected
through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by
any fraudulent means or by marriage lies on the person so converted and, where
such conversion has been facilitated by any person, on such other person.
1[Offences to be
non bailable and
cognizable
14. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,
every offence committed under this Act shall be cognizable non bailable and
triable by the Court of Session.]1
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1- Subs. by section 10 of UK Act no 13 of 2022.

Power to remove
difficulties
15. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the
Government of State of Uttarakhand may, by order published in the Official
Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act, as appear to it, to be necessary or expedient for removing the
difficulty;
Provided, that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a
period of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is
made, be laid before State Legislature.
Power to make
Rules
16. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
make Rules or Regulations for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) All Rules made under this section shall be laid before the State
Legislature, as soon as may be, after t hey are made, and shall be subject
to such modifications, as the State Legislatu re may make, during the
session.
(3) Any modification so made under sub-section (2) shall be published in
the Official Gazette, and shall thereupon take effect.
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STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
1. Right to freedom of religion is guaranteed under Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the
Constitution of India, which provide religious freedom to all citizens of India. The
objective of this right is to sustain the spirit of secularism in India. According to the
Constitution, State has no religion and all religions are equal before the State and no
religion shall be given preference over the other. Citizens are free to preach, practice and
propagate any religion of their choice.
2. The Constitution confers on each individual the fundamental right to profess, practice
and propagate his religion. However, the individual right to freedom of conscience and
religion cannot be extended to construe a collective right to pr oselytize; for the right to
religious freedom belongs equally to the person converting and the individual sought to
be converted.
3. Still, there have been umpteen cases of religious conversions, both mass and individual.
Obviously, such incidents have been h otly debated, more so in a multi -religious society,
like ours. The presence of pseudo -social organizations with a hidden agenda to convert
the vulnerable sections of other religions has been noticed. There have been instances
when gullible people have been converted by offering allurement or under undue
influence. Some have been forced to convert to other religions.
4. We have come across incidents in which with an agenda to increase strength of their own
religion by getting people from other religions conver ted to their own religion, people do
marry girls of other religion by misrepresentation of their own religion and after getting
marriage to such girls, they get them converted to their own religion. Several instances
came in notice that people convert them selves to the other religion only for the purpose
of marriage with the girl of that -religion and after marriage they got that girl converted
into their own religion. Recently Hon'ble Supreme Court also took judicial notice of such
instances in the cases o f SLP (Crl.) No.5777 of 2017 Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. &
Ors. and Writ Petition (Crl.) No.142 of 2016 Aman Beg v. State of Madhya Pradesh &
Ors.
5. Several States in India already have their own Right to Freedom of Religion Acts such as
Orissa, Madhya Prad esh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujrat, Arunachal
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and recently Uttarakhand High Court in the case of HABC
No.20 of 2017 Girish Kumar Sharma v. State of Uttarakhand also emphasized need for
Freedom of Religion Act for t he State of Uttarakhand to curb sham practices of
conversion only for the purpose of marriage. Such incidents not only infringe the
freedom of religion of the persons so converted but also militate against the secular fabric
of our society.
6. The bill therefore, seeks to:-
8

(i) Prohibit religious conversions which are effected through misrepresentation,
force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by
marriage by making it an offence;
(ii) Provide greater punishment for such conversion in respect of the Minor, Women,
Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes;
(iii) Provide that the onus of proof that the conversion was not effected through
misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any
fraudulent means or by marriage lies on the person converting them and the person
converted; and
(iv) Provide that every individual converting from one religion to another shall submit
to the prescribed authority a declaration that the conversion was not effected
through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any
fraudulent means or by marriage and such authority shall make an inquiry in such
cases;
(v) Declare marriages null and void, which were done solely for the purpose of
conversion of girls from one religion to a nother religion, on the complaint of girl
or her parents.
7. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.

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