Overview

• Approval of the legislation will make Maharashtra the 11th Indian state to criminalize coercive religious conversions.
• A committee headed by the Director General of Police has submitted recommendations for a tougher framework than existing laws in other states.
• Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule directed divisional commissioners to remove unauthorized religious structures within six months under orders dating to 2011 and 2018.
• A police task force led by a deputy superintendent is investigating a 2023 FIR at the Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission orphanage over alleged forced conversions and abuse of girls.
• Opposition figures warn the law, framed under ‘love jihad’ rhetoric, risks infringing constitutional freedoms and targeting minority communities.