Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020

Prior to India's independence, during the British Raj, Hindu princely states including Kota, Patna, Surguja, Udaipur, and Kalahandi passed laws restricting religious conversions "in an attempt to preserve Hindu religious identity in the face of British missionaries."

Usage of the term love jihad

(Left) Chief Minister Adityanath told a gathering on 31 October 2020 that his government will make a law to curb "love jihad". (Right) The law was given assent by Governor Anandiben Patel.

On 31 October, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that a law to curb 'Love Jihad'[lower-alpha 2] would be passed by his government. At the same gathering in Jaunpur, the Chief Minister publicly warned and gave a death threat to those who 'play with the honour of our sisters and daughters' — "If you will not mend ways then your 'Ram Naam Satya' journey will begin".[18][19] Following the publication of the draft and assent of the bill, some commentators distanced themselves from attaching the phrase "love jihad" to the bill. While some media reported that the law was related to "love jihad", even calling the ordinance the 'love jihad law' and 'love jihad ordinance';[15][20][21] the law itself contains no mention of love jihad.[7][1] Days before the ordinance, on 17 October, the Yogi Adityanath government launched 'Mission Shakti', a six-month campaign for the safety and security of women in the state.[8][9]

The ordinance defines — allurement, coercion, conversion, force, fraudulent means, mass conversion, religion, religion converter, undue influence and unlawful conversion.[25] It defines allurement as "any gift, gratification, easy money or material benefit either in cash or kind, employment, free education in a reputed school run by any religious body or better lifestyle, divine pleasure or otherwise". A religion convertor is defined as "a person of any religion who performs any act of conversion from one religion to another religion and by whatever name he is called such as Father, Karmkandi, Maulvi or Mulla, etc".[26]

The law makes conversion non-bailable with up to 10 years of jail time if undertaken unlawfully, that is if "done through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, fraudulent means" or solely for marriage.[5] The ordinance also lays down provisions related to mass conversions.[5] The law requires that religious conversions for marriage in Uttar Pradesh to be approved by a district magistrate.[5] Uttar Pradesh Law Commission says that the proposed law does not include any restriction on interfaith marriage.[21] But experts point out that the vague framing of law makes it easy for the police to interrogate any interfaith marriage and harass Muslim men and interfaith couples.[27]

A few hours after the ordinance came into effect, the first case was filed.[28][29] 51 arrests made and 14 cases initiated within 1 month of passing the law.[30] Muskan Jahan, then 3 months pregnant, was the first woman detained under the new ordinance.[31] She was sent to a 'protection home' after her husband got arrested where she suffered a miscarriage allegedly due to negligence by authorities.[31] Both were later released after a court found no evidence of 'love jihad'.[32] In relation to another case being brought before the police, a senior police officer in Shahabad said:[33]

"It is a fact that the two were in love. She knew that he was a Muslim and went to the court to marry him, [...] Now that we received a complaint of forceful conversion, we registered the case and made the arrest. Whether it is justified or not, is for the court to decide. In such cases, the girl's statement is sacrosanct."

The law has been used by Hindu extremist groups like Bajrang Dal to stop interfaith marriages between consenting adults.[33][34] In one case a woman in Hardoi came to the Bajrang Dal for help in filing a case.[33] However news reports say that the law is being used to bully interfaith couples.[33]

In another incident, Uttar Pradesh police stopped a Muslim wedding ceremony and detained the couple for a night inside the police station mistaking the bride as a converted Hindu woman on the basis of rumours.[35] An interfaith couple has also fled Uttar Pradesh and sought protection in Delhi High Court from Uttar Pradesh police applying the law against them.[36] In a village in Firozabad, a mob chased the family of an accused in a case where the 'victim' has denied allegations of 'love jihad' while the police is still searching for the accused.[37] There were also reports of Uttar Pradesh police refusing to register cases under the provisions of 'love jihad law' when the complainants were muslim women who converted to Hinduism for marrying Hindu men but later got rejected by their husbands after marriage.[38]

Numerous experts have described the law as unconstitutional including former Law Commission chairman Justice A. P. Shah & former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur.[39][40] The criticism is largely focused on denying the right to freedom of religion and restricting women's rights to choose their partner.[41][42] 104 former bureaucrats have written an open letter to Chief minister Yogi Adityanath asking him to repeal the law. They alleged that UP "has become the epicentre of politics of hate, division and bigotry and the institutions of governance are now steeped in communal poison".[43]

224 retired judges, civil servants, diplomats, armed forces veterans wrote a letter to the CM in support of the UP law against 'unlawful conversion'.[44]

"The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 applies to everyone belonging to any religion, provides for the regulation of conversion through prescribed declaration and giving notice to authorities for ruling out unlawful conversions based on misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, fraudulent means, marriages etc. It rightly provides that the marriages done for sole purpose of unlawful conversion can be declared void by the family courts on a petition by any of the two parties in a marriage"

• Hadiya case

• Editorial (27 November 2020). Policing faith: On 'love jihad' laws. The Hindu.