Explainer: Uttarakhand Tightens Anti-Conversion Legislation, Extends Marriage Charge Waiver Until 2026 | India Information
In a major legislative transfer, the Uttarakhand Cupboard has cleared the Uttarakhand Freedom of Faith (Modification) Invoice, 2025, introducing harsher punishments for unlawful non secular conversions, tighter laws on digital propaganda, and provisions to safeguard victims.
The Invoice, accepted on Wednesday below the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, broadens the definition of “inducement” to incorporate money advantages, presents, employment presents, free training, guarantees of marriage, hurting non secular sentiments, or glorifying one other religion.
All such acts, if linked to spiritual conversion, will now be handled as felony offences. In response to studies, the laws additionally targets the digital house, banning conversion propaganda and incitement by way of social media, messaging apps, and on-line platforms.
Beneath the revised penalties, offenders could face three to 10 years in jail for basic violations, 5 to 14 years for circumstances involving weak teams, and twenty years to life imprisonment in probably the most critical offences, together with heavy fines.
The Invoice additionally cracks down on marriages carried out by concealing faith and gives victims with a complete assist system overlaying safety, rehabilitation, medical care, journey prices, and upkeep bills.
Chief Minister Dhami’s authorities maintains that the strengthened regulation is aimed toward defending residents’ non secular freedom, stopping fraud and coercion in issues of religion, and preserving social concord.
In the meantime, in one other determination, the federal government has prolonged the exemption on the ₹250 marriage registration charge below the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Guidelines till January 26, 2026.
This is applicable to residents whose marriages happened earlier than the UCC’s implementation, together with these beforehand annulled or divorced, however had been by no means registered.
The extension, officers say, is supposed to encourage extra {couples} to register their marriages and guarantee higher compliance with the UCC.
