Maharashtra Anti-Conversion Law Challenged in Court

Summary

The article reports that a 70-year-old Islamic scholar filed a constitutional challenge in the Bombay High Court on September 11, 2026, against Maharashtra’s Freedom of Religion Act, enacted in 2026. The petition argues that the law exceeds legitimate regulation of coercive conversion by infringing privacy, dignity, personal autonomy, and freedom of conscience. Christian leaders and legal observers reportedly welcomed the interfaith challenge, saying the law could affect minority communities broadly. The article claims the law permits severe penalties—potentially up to 10 years in prison—for broadly defined “allurement,” including some charitable acts, social welfare, or prayers for healing, and reverses the burden of proof onto those accused of facilitating conversion. It also describes alleged anti-Christian violence, destruction of homes and worship sites, an audit of church property, and administrative pressure on Christian institutions in Maharashtra. Approximately 4,000 churches in Mumbai are said to be using voluntary-worship declarations as a precaution against police action, although critics question their legal value. The petition follows the Nagpur Bench’s reported dismissal of an earlier challenge on August 21 for pleading deficiencies. The new case may clarify how the law’s consent, disclosure, inducement, and evidentiary provisions are to be applied.