Uttarakhand Cabinet Approved State’s Anti-Conversion Statue
On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand Cabinet approved a proposal to strengthen the state’s anti-conversion statute, the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, by amending it to make forced conversion a punishable offense, a nonbailable offense with a 10-year prison sentence, similar to the law in the state’s neighbor, Uttar Pradesh. A non-bailable offense is an offense in which bail is not a matter of right, but rather it is a matter of the discretion of the court of law.
In the case of non-bailable offenses, mostly the accused gets bail through a court of law. Yet there is a provision under Section 437 subsection 4 that empowers the police officer to grant bail while recording reasons in writing. Though, in reality, police officers do not grant bail. The idea to relocate the Uttarakhand High Court from Nainital to Haldwani was also agreed upon informally by the state government.
The choices were made during a Cabinet meeting presided over by the chief executive Pushkar Singh Dhami. In the meeting, more than 20 of these proposals were approved.
Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018
“Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018, was passed with the intention to equally strengthen the importance of every religion in the state under the right to freedom of religion given by Articles 25, 26, 27, and 28. Under the current, changed circumstances, and to strengthen the law, Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2022, is being passed by the Cabinet,” a source in the government said. According to reports, a bill amending the anti-conversion statute will shortly be submitted to the state Assembly. On November 29, the Assembly will convene.
Anyone found guilty of “forced or fraudulent” conversion faces a prison sentence of up to five years under the state’s anti-conversion statute from 2018. The ordinance prohibiting “forced” or “fraudulent” religious conversions were introduced by UP Governor Anandiben Patel in November 2020. Beginning in March 2021, the ordinance was a law.
A 10-year prison sentence is possible for every infraction of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020. The law stipulates that every offense must be cognizable, non-bailable, and triable by the court of sessions.
BJP Applauded the Change
In the meantime, the state’s ruling BJP applauded the change that strengthened the anti-conversion law. Mahendra Bhatt, the state BJP president, hailed the chief minister and described it as a decision made in accordance with the wishes of the people.
He also predicted that the action would mark a turning point in the fight against forced conversion in the state. The party also praised the choice to relocate the High Court from Nainital to Haldwani and to assist those harmed by the Jamrani Dam in receiving rehabilitation.
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Inspiration from Yogi Adityanath’s UP
Yogi Adityanath’s style of “strong” leadership in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh appears to be being imitated by the Uttarakhand government. While the most recent example is the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, which is modeled after the UP law, the Pushkar Dhami government indicated in September that it intends to inspect unrecognized madrassas in the state — just days after UP launched a similar survey. To release Waqf properties from unauthorized occupancy and encroachment, similar to how the UP was handled, the new state Waqf board head recently suggested that the board purchase its own bulldozers.
2018 Anti-Conversion Legislation
In addition, the 2018 legislation has said that “one who desires to convert his religion, shall give a declaration at least one month in advance, to the district magistrate.” In the amendment, the state has now increased the time to give the declaration to 60 days. Moreover, the Uttrakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act sets forth a prison term of “up to 10 years if the person converted is a minor, women or from the SC/ST community”., and the cash penalty would be “not less than Rs. 25,000” The jail term would now range from three years to 10 years, with a penalty “not less than Rs. 25,000 or a maximum of Rs. 5 Lakh to the victim.”
