Collaborators will be treated like main accused, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.
Bhopal:
Weeks after the Karnataka and Haryana governments said they were considering legislation against “love jihad”, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra today said the state government would soon bring in a law to counter the problem.
A bill may be brought in in the next assembly session to tackle Love Jihad, Mr Mishra said, adding that there will be a provision of five years rigorous imprisonment in it.
“Cases will be registered under non-bailable sections…The collaborator will also be the culprit like the main accused,” Mr Mishra said. “For voluntary conversion for marriage, it will be mandatory to apply to the collector a month in advance.”
On November 6, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said he was keen on an early decision on bringing a law against religious conversion in the name of “love jihad”.
On the same day, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij told state Assembly that the government was considering a similar law and has sought information from Himachal Pradesh administration on this. The Himachal Pradesh assembly had last year passed a bill against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages solemnised for the “sole purpose” of adopting a new religion.
The Allahabad High Court in September had said that religious conversion only for the purpose of marriage was not acceptable. The court was referring to its earlier order refusing to interfere in a couple’s petition seeking protection from relatives interfering in their married life three months after their marriage.
The Allahabad High Court order recorded that the woman was Muslim by birth and had converted her religion from Islam to Hinduism in June this year, exactly a month and two days before her marriage.
