Civil Groups Warn Maharashtra Anti-Conversion Bill Threatens Privacy And Liberty

Mumbai: A coalition of 35 civil society organisations, women’s rights groups, and constitutional advocacy groups voiced deep concern over the Maharashtra cabinet’s approval of the new anti-conversion draft law. Accusing the government of driving the bill on a false narrative of love jihad, the organisations have warned that they will challenge it legally if the legislative assembly passes it.

The proposed legislation, titled the ‘Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 2026’, is reportedly designed to regulate religious conversions and interfaith relationships. However, critics argue the bill is a direct assault on the constitutional right to privacy and personal liberty. While the official text remains shielded from public view, government representatives have signalled that the law will be significantly more stringent than similar statutes enacted in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The coalition emphasised that while the law is framed as a measure to prevent fraudulent conversions, the political discourse surrounding it has leaned heavily on the love jihad narrative. It highlighted that the Union government had said in the Parliament in 2020 that love jihad has no legal definition and that central agencies have reported no such cases.

At a press conference organised on Wednesday, organising secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Adv Lara Jesani, said, “There is no data on forced conversions, and therefore we don’t know if we need to tackle forced conversions. This narrative has fuelled hate speeches, especially in Maharashtra, which has been reporting one of the highest numbers of hate speeches in the last three years. It is already difficult for two adults to consent to marry under the Special Marriage Act due to fear of being targeted by vigilante groups.”

The civil society organisations also raised concerns that the bill has been introduced without public consultation, scrutiny and debate. They highlighted that the Maharashtra proposal has come at a time when the constitutional validity of similar anti-conversion laws across several states is already under challenge before the Supreme Court. A batch of writ petitions, filed by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), has been pending before the apex court since 2020.

CJP’s secretary Teesta Setalvad said, “The bill is a direct attack on women’s autonomy and the secular principles of the Indian Constitution. Its features, such as requiring prior permission before conversion, pre-conversion notice, and allowing relatives to trigger criminal action, are unconstitutional. The opposition parties need to take a clear stand against this.” She added that if the Maharashtra government plans to move ahead with enacting the law, it will be challenged by CJP.

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The coalition has demanded that the state government immediately make the draft public, consult the public and civil society organisations, refer the bill to a legislative standing committee for detailed scrutiny, refrain from passing the law without meaningful democratic debate and release empirical data on forced conversions that justifies the need for such a law.

Amir Kazi, All India Students Federation’s Mumbai president and a founding member of Mumbai for Peace movement, said, “The youth needs to expand its thinking, but laws like these restrict our thinking. Maharashtra’s youth is progressive and does not believe in such an ideology.” He added that the organisations have planned to raise awareness among the youth about this law and to launch a signature campaign.

Bombay Catholic Sabha’s spokesperson, Dolphy Dsouza, raised concerns about the loose usage of terms like ‘allurement’ to define forced conversion, suggesting that it can also criminalise charitable work like education that Christian organisations widely carry out.

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