Chapter III PROCEDURE FOR CONVERSION

1. (1) Any person who desires to convert from one faith or religion to another religion shall submit a declaration in the format as may be prescribed, to the Competent Authority within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the said conversion is to be performed.
2. (2) Any person belonging to the Scheduled Tribes who desires to convert to another religion shall submit a declaration in the format as may be prescribed, to the Competent Authority within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the said conversion is to be performed.
3. (3) Any religious convertor or the priest, maulvi, father or any other person performing the rituals of the religious conversion shall submit a declaration, in the format as may be prescribed, to the Competent Authority within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the said conversion is to be performed.
4. (4) The Competent Authority, within 7 days, after receiving required information under the above sub-sections, shall publish the particulars of the proposed conversion on its official website to be maintained by the Competent Authority under this Act and display a notice of proposed conversion at the offices of the Tahsildar, Gram Panchayat, place of residence of the applicant and the local police station and ensure that the notice includes the applicant's name, current faith or religion, and proposed religion.
5. (5) Contravention of sub-section (1),
6. (2) and
7. (3) shall have the effect of rendering the proposed conversion, illegal and void.

Any person may, before the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the notice of intended conversion has been published under sub-section

1. (4) of Section 4, object to the proposed conversion to the competent authority in writing.

For the purpose of any inquiry conducted under this Act on declaration, objection, intimation, complaint or suo-moto, the powers of the Competent Authority shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the powers of the police authority under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (No. 46 of 2023) for any offence committed under this Act.

The Competent Authority for the purpose of inquiry shall have all the powers vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (No. 5 of 1908), during inquiry in respect of the following matters, namely:-

1. (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath;
2. (b) discovery and

1. (1) The competent authority shall either on complaint or suo-moto conduct an inquiry into the declaration and objection of intended conversion and intimation of unlawful conversion and pass final order within a period of thirty days.
2. (2) Upon conclusion of such inquiry, if the Competent Authority concludes, that an offence is committed under this Act, -
   • (a) he shall send a report to the concerned police authorities; and
   • (b) he shall reject the declaration.
3. (3) If no illegality is found in the application then the Competent Authority may conclude that the application is valid.

Any person aggrieved by an order of the Competent Authority passed under sub-section

1. (1) of Section 7 may, within thirty days from the date of such order, prefer an appeal to the Principal District Judge having jurisdiction over the area where office of the Competent Authority is situated.

1. (1) The converted person shall submit a declaration as per prescribed format within thirty days of the date of conversion, to the Competent Authority before whom the declaration under Section 4 was submitted.
2. (2) Contravention of sub-section
3. (1) shall have effect of rendering the proposed conversion, illegal and void.
4. (3) The Competent Authority shall require the converted person to appear in person within twenty-one days of submitting the declaration in sub-section (1), to verify their identity and confirm the contents of the declaration. Upon due verification, the Competent Authority shall issue a Certificate of Conversion as per prescribed format.
5. (4) The Certificate of Conversion issued under sub-section
6. (3) shall be deemed conclusive evidence that the conversion was conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Effect of religious conversion, unlawful conversion and status of converted individuals The Competent Authority, shall upon issuance of Conversion Certificate to the person who is converted in pursuant to the provisions of this Act, update the status of such individual in its official records in writing as may be prescribed.

1. (1) If the conversion is not carried out within a period of ninety days from the date on which the application for conversion is held valid under sub-section
2. (1) of Section (7), such application shall be deemed to have been lapsed.
3. (2) Any conversion carried out after the lapse of the application shall be deemed unlawful and such conversion shall be held as 'unlawful conversion'.

1. (1) Where any person of one religion or faith enters into a marriage with a person of another religion or faith, in any institution, religious place, private or public premises, -
   • (i) the father priest, maulvi or any other person responsible for solemnizing such marriage; and
   • (ii) persons entering into the marriage, shall sixty days prior to the proposed date of marriage, submit a declaration to the Competent Authority in the format as may be prescribed. The Competent Authority shall also publish the notice of declaration on its official website.
2. (2) The Competent Authority shall inquire whether the intention of such marriage is for unlawful conversion.
3. (3) The Competent Authority in pursuant to the intimation as provided under sub-section
4. (1) above shall conclude the inquiry within 45 days as per Section 6 of this Act.
5. (4) The Competent Authority in pursuant to the inquiry may take appropriate action under the provisions of this Act.
6. (5) Where any person of one religion or faith enters into a marriage with a person of another religion or faith, and converts either before or after such marriage and such conversion is solely for the purpose of marriage or marriage is for the purpose of conversion, the conversion shall be deemed unlawful, if it is not in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Explanation.- Marriage shall not ipso facto lead to conversion under this Act.

Compliance by persons facilitating conversion

1. (1) Any person who facilitates conversion shall from the date of the enforcement of this Act, shall provide its details in format as may be prescribed to the Competent Authority for registration, who shall maintain a record to this effect.
2. (2) Any person facilitating conversion shall maintain a record as may be prescribed with supporting documentation with regard to every conversion initiated or completed.
3. (3) Every person facilitating conversions shall, within sixty days of the end of each financial year, submit an annual report in prescribed format to the Competent Authority, containing the following:
   • (a) the total number of conversions initiated and completed, details including the name, age, gender and address of the persons converting, thereof during the financial year; and
   • (b) A certified financial audit report detailing all funds received (domestic or foreign).
4. (4) Such records shall be maintained from the date of each conversion and shall be made available for inspection by the Competent Authority as and when required.
5. (5) The Competent Authority shall have the power to,-
   • (a) verify the authenticity of conversions and ensure adherence to the procedures prescribed under this Act;
   • (b) investigate complaints or grievances relating to conversions;
   • (c) Summon any person for examination or production of records.
6. (6) No person shall accept donations, grants or contributions from within or outside India for the purpose of violating the provisions of this Act.
7. (7) The State Government may take appropriate steps not to provide or to retract or cancel any such financial aid, grant or infrastructure support to any person violating the provisions of this Act.

1. (1) If any person reverts to their ancestral religion or faith, such reversion shall be intimated to the Competent Authority in the format as may be prescribed before or after the reversion.
2. (2) The Competent Authority may thereafter pass an order for cancellation of the conversion certificate; in cases where conversion certificate is not issued the Competent Authority may pass a formal order recording the reversion of the person to their ancestral religion or faith in pursuant to the intimation and thereafter the information shall be published in the manner as may be prescribed.
3. (3) Once an intimation under sub-section
4. (1) is submitted by a person before the Competent Authority, the reversion shall be deemed to be legal for all practical purposes.