3 min readMumbaiMar 18, 2026 01:55 AM IST
A day after it was passed by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Council on Tuesday cleared the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026, amid fears expressed by opposition as well as ruling party legislators on misuse of provisions of the Bill by authorities as well as self-proclaimed protectors of religion.
The government has said the Bill seeks to prohibit unlawful religious conversions carried out through force, coercion, allurement, misrepresentation or other fraudulent means.
The Bill was opposed by the Congress and NCP (SP) from the opposition benches while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) supported it.
Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Minister of State for Home Pankaj Bhoyar said the Bill does not intend to snatch a person’s right to convert or curtail a woman’s freedom but only to curb forceful conversions. “The Bill is not targeting a particular religion. It is not about Hindu-Muslim. The government will ensure that it will be applicable to all religions,” he said.
Opposing the Bill, Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap questioned its need at this hour. “It is being presented in such a manner that it is brought to punish and target a particular community. Even before this Bill, any case of forceful conversion was dealt with by existing law. The provisions of the Bill give an impression that we are breaking the structure of the Constitution,” Jagtap said.
BJP MLC Parinay Phuke said the Bill is meant to protect Hindus and stop demogrpahic change. “Europe is facing the problem of growing population from countries like Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. We should be aware of this demographic change and therefore such Bills are necessary to ensure Hindu population is protected,” he said.
Even as the Sena (UBT) extended support to the Bill, its legislators Anil Parab and Sachin Ahir sought to know the details of instances based on which the Bill was being brought and actions taken by the government in the past against that. Bhoyar said a committee under the DGP was formed before the Bill was brought and extensive discussions had taken place. He, however, did not specify the number of cases which prompted the government to bring the Bill. Bhoyar said though there are provisions to deal with crimes committed through force, coercion or other fradulent means, there was no independent law to deal with conversions. “Therefore this Bill has been brought,” he said.
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Independent MLC Satyajeet Tambe, while extending support to the Bill, said actions on ground after the passage of the Bill should not affect the youth negatively and their right to love should remain unchallenged. “There is a provision of giving notice of 60 days before conversion, which will create law and order problems. Allowing anyone to object to the conversion will complicate matters,” he said, adding that a child born of disputed marriages should be given the chance to chose his or her religion after 18 years of age instead of taking the mother’s religion. He also cautioned against political use of the Act, on the lines of Atrocities act.
