PANAJI
The Goa cabinet approved the draft of the Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing forced or fraudulent religious conversions through coercion, inducement, deception, or marriage. The government plans to introduce the legislation in the upcoming monsoon session of the Assembly beginning August 31. The proposed law prescribes stringent penalties, including life imprisonment for those found guilty of forced conversions. It also provides for Rs 50,000 fine and Rs 5 lakh compensation to victims. If a conversion is proven to have occurred through marriage, the marriage will be declared null and void, the draft legislation proposes, sources said. Under the draft, religious leaders or intermediaries including priests, pastors, maulvis, or others found facilitating illegal conversions could face three to ten years’ imprisonment. The punishment rises to five to fourteen years and Rs one-lakh fine if the victim is a minor, woman, or belongs to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The bill also criminalises conversions achieved through financial or social inducement, fraud, or pressure, and ensures legal protection and compensation for victims. A senior official said the legislation seeks to “protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation under the guise of faith” while maintaining constitutional safeguards for voluntary conversions. Reports of the clearance of the legislation by the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet, meanwhile, has already sparked intense debate and fears of its misuse by the government of the day to get back at political opponents and critics.
Several BJP-ruled States have already enacted similar laws recently. Uttar Pradesh had passed its Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act in 2021, prescribing up to ten years’ imprisonment for forced conversions. Karnataka followed with its Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, which also criminalises conversions by marriage or inducement. Goa’s proposed law mirrors the Karnataka framework on conversion by marriage following the love-jihad propaganda of right-wing outfits. The Goa law which the cabinet approved also introduces life imprisonment for aggravated offences, the harshest of penalties in all such laws in the country. When taken up in the Assembly, the bill is expected to generate a heated debate where opposition legislators are expected to question the legislation's scope, particularly the provision against conversion by marriage, with inter-faith relationships relatively common in Goa.
