The Maharashtra government on Friday introduced the Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 in the Assembly during the ongoing Budget Session. “The objective of the Bill is to protect the right to freedom of religion. It also aims to prohibit unlawful religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, inducement, or marriage,” Minister of State for Home Pankaj Bhoyar said while introducing the draft law.
It proposes stringent provisions, including imprisonment up to 10 years and fine up to ₹7 lakh, for forcible conversion.
The Bill, which was cleared by the State Cabinet in its meeting last week, has courted controversy, with several civil society members seeking public consultation by citing apprehensions about curtailment of rights of women and minorities. They alleged that it will “encourage vigilante activism and take away agency from women”.
Similar laws passed by States such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand have been challenged by the civil rights groups in the Supreme Court.
The Bill has defined ‘allurement or temptation’ as “any gift, gratification, easy money or material benefit either in cash or kind; employment; free education in school or college run by any religious body or institution; promise to marry; better lifestyle, divine healing; portraying practice, rituals, and ceremonies or, any integral part of a religion in a detrimental way vis-a-vis another religion; and glorifying one religion vis-a-vis another religion”.
