Civil Society Groups Oppose Maharashtra Freedom Of Religion Act, Plan Supreme Court Challenge

Mumbai: A broad coalition of 20 civil society organisations, women’s rights groups and religious bodies issued a joint declaration against the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026. Representatives from the groups announced that three member organisations are actively preparing to move the Supreme Court of India to challenge the constitutional validity of the law.

Organisations demand withdrawal of notification pending Supreme Court review

The legislation, which is scheduled to come into force on August 28, has triggered widespread alarm over potential state surveillance, interference in personal autonomy, and targeted harassment of vulnerable communities. Constitutional experts, legal advocates and community leaders from these organisations addressed a press conference at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Monday, where they collectively demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the notification or place the law on hold, pending the apex court's decisions on similar state-level anti-conversion statutes.

​Panelists argued that the act establishes an unprecedented administrative regime over private matters of faith, marriage and individual choice. The law enforces advance notice requirements, mandatory declarations and post-conversion reporting obligations for anyone intending to change their faith.

Groups raise concerns over criminal provisions and burden of proof under Act

​The members expressed their fear over the law's provisions which will make alleged violations cognisable and non-bailable, while placing the onus on the accused to prove their innocence. They also highlighted that vaguely defined terms such as "allurement" risk criminalising routine charitable work, educational assistance, religious preaching or syncretic cultural practices, whereas provisions allowing complaints by relatives will be able to create loopholes for vigilante groups to target consenting interfaith couples.

According to the panelists, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Forum Against Oppression of Women are working on challenging the legality of the law in the Supreme Court of India.

Legal experts allege law may affect religious minorities and individual freedoms

​Adv. Irfan Engineer, Director at Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, said, "The Chief Minister said they will bring in the strictest law but the current law is already enough to stop forceful conversion. It will be used to harass Christians and Muslims, as now the state will decide who will follow which religion, violating the Indian Constitution's Right to Life and Religion. It is not based on the constitution but on the ideology of making the country a Hindu Rashtra."

Adv. Lara Jesani, human rights advocate, said, "The rules have not been notified yet, but we are afraid that they will be misused against interfaith couples. The rules disclosing the names of interfaith couples in mandatory notices outside the registrar's office are already being used to harass couples. I have handled a lot of such cases where the families of the couple are fine with the marriage, but they have to seek police protection due to backlash from Hindu vigilante groups."

Groups claim women and marginalised communities could be disproportionately affected

​The joint statement emphasised that the legislation disproportionately affects women, Dalits, Adivasis and young adults by relying on patriarchal assumptions that vulnerable citizens lack the capacity to make independent, adult decisions about their personal beliefs.

Sandhya Gokhale, Member, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said, "The law is most discriminatory towards women, as it restricts women's right to choose their partner and their religion. They do not want a woman from the majority community to convert to a minority religion, but they are fine with it the other way around."

​Organisers pointed out that Christian institutions in the Greater Mumbai region have reported approximately 30 minor and major incidents of harassment by vigilante groups over the past eight months. They cautioned that the new law risks validating vigilante interference and further damaging communal harmony.

Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St. Xavier's College, expressed concerns that charitable work like education will also be scrutinised under the law. "If a minority institution helps underprivileged people pafford aided college fees, it can be considered an inducement to conversion. Therefore, it is draconian. The bill can destroy society – such laws are justifiable for terrorism but not for social service. Healing services, which are part of our tradition, can also be treated as inducements. This is not only an attack on religious minorities, but on poor communities," he said.

​He highlighted that the law needs to be looked at alongside other legal changes like the proposed FCRA, which aims to "takeover all land acquired by Christian organisations" and the mandate of run schools by School Management Committees under the NEP.

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