The Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday passed the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, which introduces sweeping measures to curb unlawful religious conversions. The law prescribes long prison terms, heavy fines and allows for the demolition and confiscation of properties where mass conversions are found to have taken place.

The bill expands the definition of conversion to include marriages carried out for the purpose of religious conversion. If a person marries another by making false promises, by luring them, or by giving misleading information with the intention of religious conversion, whether before or after the marriage, it will be treated as conversion and punishable by law. Such marriages may also be declared void by a court. The provision is being linked to so-called “love jihad” cases, a term used in political discourse to allege conversions through marriage.

All offences related to religious conversion have been categorised as non-bailable, making bail difficult to obtain. Even voluntary conversions will now require prior permission from the district administration. An application must be filed with the District Collector or Additional District Magistrate 90 days in advance, following which a public notice will be displayed at their office. Objections can be filed within two months, and the conversion will be allowed only after hearings are concluded.

The bill lays down stringent punishments. Illegal conversion can attract imprisonment between seven and fourteen years and a fine of up to five lakh rupees. Conversion of minors, women, disabled persons, or members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can lead to ten to twenty years in prison and a fine of ten lakh rupees. Mass conversions carry a minimum of twenty years’ imprisonment, which may extend to life, along with a fine of twenty five lakh rupees. Conversions linked to foreign or illegal funding will attract ten to twenty years in prison and a fine of twenty lakh rupees. Conversions without informing the Collector may result in seven to ten years in prison and a fine of up to three lakh rupees. Repeat offenders face life imprisonment with heavy penalties.

Immediately after the bill was passed, the proceedings of the House were adjourned till the morning of September 10. Congress MLAs did not participate in the debate and created uproar during the discussion. Party leaders later said their protest was not against the bill but against the installation of an additional camera inside the Assembly. The Leader of Opposition was absent during the passage.

RLD MLA Subhash Garg opposed the bill, warning that it could lead to corruption and misuse by the police. He suggested that notices for conversion should also be published in newspapers to ensure transparency.

A controversy erupted during the debate when BJP MLA Gopal Sharma remarked that legislators who had converted, including Rafiq Khan and Kagzi, should return to their “original religion.”

The law follows repeated complaints of mass conversions in the state. In February 2024, reports of a mass conversion at Sonar Haveli in Atalband, Bharatpur, triggered uproar. More recently, Bharatpur police arrested preacher Bajinder Singh, known as Yeshu Yeshu Baba, for allegedly luring people into conversion. Singh is also facing trial in Punjab and is currently lodged in Mansa jail on rape charges.