Govt to take ordinance route for anti-conversion law?

The state government may promulgate an ordinance to give effect to the Anti-Conversion Bill and this is likely to come up before the Cabinet that is scheduled to meet Thursday.

It is learnt that the Home Department has prepared a Cabinet note making a case for the ordinance that will bring the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill to life.

According to sources, the law department has opined that there are no legal hurdles for the ordinance.

The controversial Bill proposes to prohibit religious conversion by way of marriage or inducements such as free marriage, employment among others.

The Bill proposes imprisonment of 3 to 5 years with a fine of Rs 25,000 for 'forced' conversion.

Converting a minor, woman or an SC/ST person will attract a jail term of 3 to 10 years, with a Rs-50,000 fine.

Mass conversions will attract 3-10 years of jail time, with a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.

The Bill got passed in the Assembly in December last year. However, the ruling BJP did not push the Bill for passage in the Legislative Council, where it is one short of a majority.

Sources in the Home department said the government wants to ensure that the provisions of the Bill are implemented at the earliest.

"We will get the ordinance approved in the Cabinet and send it to the Governor for assent. Soon after that, we will implement it," a source said.

Karnataka will become the ninth state to enact the anti-conversion law.

BJP sources pointed out that a similar route was taken for the anti-cow slaughter law: an ordinance was promulgated first and both houses of the legislature approved it later.

The idea is to ensure the implementation of the anti-conversion law ahead of the 2023 Assembly election.

The Bill specifies that while it is not a crime to convert on one's own volition and then get married, it is a crime to convert for the purpose of marriage. Such marriages can be declared null and void.

If a person wants to convert, he or she has to intimate the authorities concerned at least a month in advance.

If officials find that the conversion is being done under external pressure, then a case can be booked.