Madhya Pradesh Law Will Soon Make 'Love Jihad' Non-Bailable Offence With 5-Year Jail Term

Weeks after the Karnataka and Haryana governments said they were considering legislation against "love jihad", Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said the state government would soon bring in a law to counter the problem.

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Provisions of the bill

A bill may be brought in in the next assembly session itself to tackle "love jihad", Mishra said, adding there will be a provision of five years rigorous imprisonment in it.

"We are also proposing that such crimes be declared a cognizable and non-bailable offence," he added. He further confirmed that there will be a provision to declare marriages taking place forcefully, out of fraud or by tempting someone, for religious conversion, null and void.

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"Those assisting in committing this crime will also be considered a party to the crime. For voluntary conversion for marriage, it will be mandatory to apply to the collector a month in advance," added Narottam Mishra.

There will be provision to declare marriages taking place forcefully, out of fraud or by tempting someone, for religious conversion, null and void. Those assisting in committing this crime will also be considered a party to the crime: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra https://t.co/zubI4ePO6k

¡ª ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2020

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier hinted at bringing in a new legislation against ¡°love jihad¡±, a term coined by rightwing outfits opposing inter-faith marriage. However, the right to marry a person of one¡¯s choice is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

¡°Jihad will not be permitted in the name of love at any cost in the state. Necessary legal provisions will be made against love jihad,¡± he had said.

PTI

The Madhya Pradesh government's move to table such a bill has come two months after the Allahabad High Court in September 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.

Here's some context

The BJP governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are also contemplating legal provisions against ¡°love jihad¡±.

The issue was revived after a 21-year-old student was shot dead outside her college in Haryana¡¯s Ballabgarh town. The girl¡¯s family alleged that the accused had been pressuring her to convert and marry him.

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In February this year, the Central government had told Parliament that the term "love jihad" is not defined under any existing law and no case has been reported by any central agency. With this, the central government had for the first time officially distanced itself from the idea of rightwing religious groups using marriage as a ruse to convert women.

However, on November 6, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said his government was keen on bringing in such a law against religious conversion in the name of "love jihad".