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The Chhattisgarh assembly on Thursday approved a new law tightening controls on religious conversion, imposing advance notice requirements, public disclosures and steep criminal penalties — including life terms for organised mass conversions and long jail sentences when minors, women or members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are involved. The measure, which sponsors say updates a decades-old statute for the digital age, immediately raises questions about administrative oversight, personal privacy and the future of interfaith unions in the state.
The bill, introduced by Home Minister Vijay Sharma as the Chhattisgarh Dharm Swatantraya Vidheyak, 2026, was adopted by voice vote after opposition legislators left the house demanding referral to a select committee. It targets conversions obtained by force, fraudulent promises, pressure or financial and material inducements — and explicitly covers activity that happens through social media and other electronic channels.
Key provisions at a glance
- Prospective converts must file a formal declaration with the competent authority — the district magistrate or an authorised officer — before changing faith.
- Authorities must publish the conversion proposal online and post notices at the tehsildar office, the local panchayat and the police station within seven days.
- There is a 30-day window for objections; authorities will investigate and issue a decision within a prescribed period. If a conversion is not completed within 90 days of approval, the application lapses.
- Conversions for the purpose of marriage require a separate declaration at least 60 days before the wedding; officials will scrutinise whether the change of religion was genuine or merely a device to marry.
- Persons conducting rites or aiding conversions — including religious functionaries — must notify the competent authority. Organisations carrying out conversions must file annual reports on numbers, personal details of converts, and domestic and foreign funding.
- The state may withdraw grants, financial aid or infrastructure support from individuals or entities found to be facilitating unlawful conversions, and restrict receipt of funds used for that purpose.
- All offences are designated cognisable and non-bailable; cases are to be investigated by police officers (not below sub-inspector) and tried in special courts or in sessions courts where a special court is not constituted. Trials are expected to be completed within six months of the chargesheet.
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The legislation defines allurement broadly to include money, gifts, employment offers, free education or medical care, promises of a better lifestyle, or marriage. It also lists psychological pressure, threats, physical force and social ostracism under coercion, and bars any attempt to promote conversion by prohibited means — online or offline.
Penalties and legal mechanics
Penalties are significantly increased compared with the existing law from 1968 that the state plans to repeal. The bill criminalises organised conversions of more than one person in a single event as “mass conversion”, carrying jail terms that start at ten years and may extend to life — defined as the remainder of the convict’s natural life — plus a minimum fine of Rs 25 lakh.
When victims are minors, persons with mental incapacity, women, or members of OBC, SC or ST communities, punishments range from 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh. The draft also allows courts to order compensation up to Rs 10 lakh to victims and their immediate families affected by unlawful conversions.
Conversions that pass procedural muster will receive a certificate; the bill clarifies such certificates cannot be used as proof of identity or citizenship. Reconversion to an ancestral faith is not treated as a conversion under the law, but previously issued certificates in such cases will be cancelled.
What this means on the ground
For individuals, the new process introduces administrative steps and public scrutiny before a change of religion can be recognised, with penalties that could deter conversions carried out privately or at small gatherings. For religious leaders and NGOs, the requirement to notify authorities and to report yearly on activities and funding raises compliance burdens and the prospect of penalties for administrative lapses.
Critics are likely to highlight risks to personal privacy, the chilling effect on religious freedom and potential misuse of public notice requirements to stoke local tensions. Supporters, including the home minister, framed the change as necessary to address fraudulent or coercive conversions and to reflect the role of digital communications, saying the 1968 framework no longer matched contemporary realities.
Next steps and wider implications
After assembly passage, the bill will proceed through statutory formalities before becoming law; that process typically includes consideration by the governor. Its enforcement will require new administrative systems at district and local levels, training for police and magistracy, and protocols for handling objections and investigations.
Whether the law will withstand legal challenges or prompt policy shifts in other states will depend on how courts assess its balance between preventing abuse and protecting constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. For residents of Chhattisgarh, the immediate takeaway is that the state has entrusted civil authorities with a far broader role in overseeing religious conversions than before, with substantial criminal penalties for violations.
