Mumbai: Maharashtra's Cabinet approved the draft 'Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 2026' on Thursday, an anti-conversion law targeting forced or fraudulent religious conversions with up to seven years' imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh fine. BJP minister Nitesh Rane said it would shield Hindu girls from "forcible marriage and conversion," with the Bill set for tabling in the ongoing budget session.
The law bans organizations aiding unlawful conversions, makes offences non-bailable, and allows police to act on complaints. It draws from a February 2025 government resolution and a DGP-led committee's study of similar laws in other states. Rane confirmed: "With this Bill no one will be able to forcibly marry and convert Hindu girls."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sachin Ahir questioned its scope: "Firstly it needs to be understood that law considers whom and in what context, and those who talk about ‘love jihad’ are speaking specifically about which communities and whether it is for all the communities or just one community. I think it should be for and we should speak on it only when it is fully drafted and studied."
CM Devendra Fadnavis has stressed it's not against interfaith marriages but coercion, false identities, or inducement: "Where marriages happen through coercion, using false identities and with the objective of religious conversion and harassment, they need to be firmly tackled through an Act."
Maharashtra joins BJP-ruled states like Gujarat (recent parental consent mandate for marriages) in curbing "love jihad." The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to 12 states on these laws' validity, amid minority groups' claims they fuel vigilante violence.