Goa Cabinet clears anti-conversion bill ahead of assembly monsoon session

Goa, where Christians and Muslims make up over 35% of the population, will become the 13th state to have an anti-conversion law if the bill is passed

The Goa Cabinet has cleared an anti-conversion bill to be tabled in the monsoon session of the state assembly beginning August 31, proposing up to 14 years of imprisonment and outlawing conversion through the use of force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, or marriage, people aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant pushed for an anti-conversion law in the assembly in July last year. (X)

Goa, where Christians and Muslims make up over 35% of the population, will become the 13th of the 28 states to have an anti-conversion law if the bill is passed.

The Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill proposes up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, including religious figures such as priests, karmkandis, maulvis or mullas. The punishment could go up to 14 years of imprisonment if they unlawfully convert a person with a disability or a mental illness, a woman, a minor, or a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community.

A minister, who asked for anonymity, confirmed that the bill will be introduced in the state assembly during the three-day monsoon session.

The bill says that those wishing to convert must file a declaration with the district magistrate stating they are doing so of their own will.

In July last year, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant pushed for an anti-conversion law in the assembly. Lawmakers, including those from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposed the proposal.

Sawant cited Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law and said forceful conversions are not allowed. “Many states have passed such laws. I believe we too need to bring such a law so that forceful conversions will not take place,” Sawant said. “You too need to support us,” he said, referring to the opposition lawmakers.

Sawant cited the so-called “love jihad cases” in Goa. “Now you may say they are adults, they are in love, but when there are cases of targeting, then we will have to pay attention,” Sawant said.

“Love jihad” is a term right-wing groups use to describe an alleged Muslim conspiracy to woo Hindu women, although courts and the Union government do not officially recognise it.

Independent legislator Aleixo Lourenço asked Sawant to clarify. “No conversions are happening in Goa, especially from the Catholic side. The moment you say atrocities and anti- conversions law and accuse minorities, the implication is that we are doing it,” Lourenço said.

In 2022, a Christian pastor was arrested twice in an alleged unlawful conversion case before a court quashed two cases against him and his wife after Goa Police admitted they had no evidence against them.

The neighbouring Maharashtra became the 12th state to notify an anti-conversion law this month. The controversial Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act took effect after the state government published the legislation in its official gazette on July 30.

The law criminalises religious conversions through force, allurement, fraud, inducement or marriage by making it a cognisable offence. It covers interfaith marriages, where conversion is alleged to have taken place through such means. It takes into account objections raised by the families of either party.

Among its most controversial provisions is the requirement that a person intending to convert must give 60 days’ notice to the designated authority. It places the burden of proof that the religious conversion was voluntary on the person accused of carrying out the conversion, as well as on anyone alleged to have assisted or aided it.

Civil rights groups have opposed the legislation as a violation of an individual’s right to freedom and personal privacy. It is seen as an attempt to curb interfaith marriages, particularly instances involving a Hindu woman marrying a non-Hindu man, where conversion to the latter’s faith may take place.

The law lays down provisions relating to children born of such marriages. It states that such children will be deemed to belong to the mother’s religion before the marriage. Their custody shall ordinarily remain with her unless a court directs otherwise.

Interfaith marriages for religious conversion featured prominently in the BJP-led alliance’s campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.