The Jharkhand cabinet approved on Tuesday the draft of a bill that will ban religious conversion by force or allurement. The Jharkhand Religious Independence Bill, 2017, was approved at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by chief minister Raghubar Das.
"Anyone found violating the provisions of the bill will be liable for three years' imprisonment or Rs 50,000 fine or both (sic)," cabinet coordination secretary Surendra Singh Meena told reporters.

The bill provides for tougher action on forced conversions of minor girls and women from the scheduled tribes. "In this case, the perpetrator would face jail term of up to four years and penalty of Rs 1 lakh or both," Meena said.

The bill is likely to be introduced during the monsoon session of the assembly beginning on August 8. If passed, Jharkhand will become the seventh state to have a law against conversion by force or enticement, which already exists in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh.