Table of Contents

Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026

The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026 puts two fixed deadlines around a religious conversion. The person converting, and anyone organising the ceremony, must give the Competent Authority notice sixty days before it happens. Afterwards, the converted person and the organiser must each file a declaration within twenty-one days. The Competent Authority is the District Magistrate, or any officer authorised by the Government. This page sets out those duties, the penalties behind them, and the gazette notification that switched them on.

Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act 2026 notice and declaration deadlines

Everything below comes from the Act as first published, after having received the assent of the President, in the Maharashtra Government Gazette on 30 July 2026, as Maharashtra Act No. XLVII of 2026. Most State Acts carry the Governor's assent; article 200 of the Constitution also lets a Governor reserve a Bill for the President, who then assents or withholds under article 201. The gazette dates the publication, not the assent.

Who must do what, and by when

Who What is required By when To whom
A person who intends to convert Notice of the proposed conversion, in the form to be prescribed, section 6(1) Sixty days before it Competent Authority where the conversion is proposed
A person or institution organising the ceremony The same notice, section 6(1) Sixty days before The same office
Anyone wishing to object, once the notice is displayed Objections, section 6(2) Within thirty days from issuance of the notice Competent Authority
The converted person A declaration with the section 7(2) particulars: name, age, permanent address, present residence, the names of mother, father and spouse, and the old and the new religion Within twenty-one days of the conversion Competent Authority
The person or institution that organised it The same declaration, section 7(1) Within twenty-one days Competent Authority

Miss that second deadline and section 7(4) says the conversion “shall be null and void”.

Is the Act in force? Yes, from 28 August 2026

Publication is not commencement. Section 1(2) says: “It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.” The Act as published set no date of its own.

That date was appointed on 17 August 2026. The Home Department notification is printed in the Maharashtra Government Gazette, Extraordinary, Part Four-B, Extraordinary Number 451, dated Monday 17 August 2026, and reads:

“No. NAX-0724/C.R.240/Spl-1B. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026 (Mah. XLVII of 2026), the Government of Maharashtra hereby appoints 28th August, 2026 to be the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”

It is signed by the Deputy Secretary to Government, by order and in the name of the Governor of Maharashtra. The sixty day notice, the twenty-one day declaration and the penalties below have been live since 28 August 2026.

To pull the notification yourself, open https://egazzete.mahaonline.gov.in and set Division to CENTRAL SECTION, Section to Part -4 B, Gazette Type to Extra - Ordinary, and a date range covering 17 August 2026. Note the hostname spelling, egazzete with a double z. The tidier spelling does not resolve, so do not correct it.

What the Act treats as unlawful conversion

Section 3(1) bars converting or attempting to convert anyone, or assisting, abetting, conniving or conspiring in it, by allurement, coercion, deceit, force, misrepresentation, threat, undue influence or any fraudulent means, including where any of those is used through marriage, a relationship in the nature of marriage, or a promise of marriage. The section 2 definitions are wide: allurement runs from a gift or easy money to employment, free education in an institution run by a religious body, a promise to marry, or the offer of a better lifestyle. Mass conversion means two or more persons converted at the same time.

Such a conversion is null and void, section 3(3), and a marriage solemnised with the sole purpose of unlawful conversion “shall be declared as null and void by the court on a petition presented by either party to the marriage”, section 4. Section 13 puts the burden of proof on the person who caused the conversion, and on any abettor, to show it was not in contravention of the Act.

The procedure, in the order it happens

  1. Sixty days before. Both the person converting and the organiser give notice in the prescribed form, section 6(1).
  2. Display and objections. The Competent Authority puts the proposal on its notice board and in the village panchayat or local authority office where the persons reside, calling for objections within thirty days, section 6(2).
  3. Enquiry. Objections or not, the Competent Authority may have the police enquire into the intention, purpose or cause of the conversion, section 6(3).
  4. Proceedings before it happens. If satisfied after that enquiry that the conversion would contravene the Act, the Competent Authority shall cause the police to start criminal proceedings, section 6(4).
  5. Within twenty-one days after. Both file the declaration, section 7(1), and the Competent Authority records the factum of it, section 7(3). If neither files, the conversion is null and void, section 7(4).

Penalties, and how a case starts

The case Imprisonment Fine
Contravening section 3, under section 9(1) Seven years One lakh rupees
Contravening section 3 in respect of a minor, a person of unsound mind, a woman, or a person belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, section 9(2) Seven years Five lakh rupees
Contravening section 3 in respect of mass conversion, section 9(3) Seven years Five lakh rupees
A further offence by a person or institution previously convicted under the Act, section 9(4) Ten years Seven lakh rupees
Persons in charge of an institution or organisation that violates the Act, section 10(1) Seven years Five lakh rupees

Read those figures literally. The Act says imprisonment for a term of seven years, not up to seven years, and it fixes each fine rather than capping it, though several published summaries use the words up to. An offending institution may also lose its registration, and gets no State financial aid or grant, section 10.

A case starts in one of two ways. Under section 8(1) the converted person, a parent, a brother or sister, or anyone related by blood, marriage or adoption may lodge a first information report, and section 8(2) says: “It shall be mandatory for the police officer in charge of the police station to register a complaint made by any person specified in sub-section (1).” Section 8(3) also lets a police officer take suo motu cognizance. Every offence is cognizable and non-bailable, and is triable by the Court of Sessions, section 15.

Children, maintenance and custody

A child born out of a marriage, or a relationship in the nature of marriage, caused due to unlawful conversion is deemed to belong to the religion of the mother before that marriage, keeps succession rights in the property of both parents, and is entitled to maintenance as per section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Custody “shall be with the mother of the child unless the court decides otherwise”, section 5. Section 16 entitles victims to maintenance and custody of children, and leaves rehabilitation support to the rules.

What the Act leaves to the rules

“As may be prescribed” runs through this Act, and section 2(k) says prescribed means prescribed by rules made by the Government. Three duties wait on those rules: the form and manner of the sixty day notice, the form and manner of the declaration, and rehabilitation support under section 16(2). The Act itself carries no form and no schedule. Section 17 lets the State Government make the rules by gazette notification, and requires each rule to be laid before both Houses of the State Legislature for thirty days, after which both Houses may modify or annul it.

Whether those rules and forms have been notified could not be confirmed for this page. The commencement notification was traced in the gazette, but no corresponding rules notification was found alongside it. Ask the Competent Authority for your district for the current form before drafting anything yourself, and keep proof of the date you filed it. Section 18 adds one more clock: orders to remove difficulties cannot be made more than two years after commencement.

The RTI route: getting the notification and the forms

Both open questions above are answered by documents a public authority already holds, which is what the Right to Information Act, 2005 is for. Address the application to the Public Information Officer, Home Department, Government of Maharashtra, Mantralaya, Mumbai, and the district questions to the Public Information Officer at your District Collector and District Magistrate office.

  1. A copy of the notification issued under section 1(2) appointing the date the Act comes into force, with its number and date.
  2. Whether any rules have been made under section 17, and if so a copy with the date of the gazette notification.
  3. A copy of the prescribed form of the notice under section 6(1) and of the declaration under section 7(1).
  4. A copy of any order authorising an officer other than the District Magistrate as Competent Authority under section 2©, for the district you name.
  5. The number of notices received under section 6(1) and declarations recorded under section 7(3) in that district since the Act came into force.

A notification, a set of rules and a printed form are plain public records, so a refusal is hard to justify. If the application is refused or ignored, the section 19 first appeal is the next step, and a refusal leaning on the section 8 exemptions should be tested rather than accepted. New to this? Start with RTI for beginners, then file an RTI online with help from the AI RTI Drafter and The RTI Playbook.

This page is general information about what a published Act says. It is not legal advice. If you are facing a complaint, a first information report or any proceeding under this Act, take your papers to a lawyer.

FAQ

Is the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act in force right now?

Yes. Section 1(2) left commencement to a State Government notification, and that notification was issued. Home Department Notification No. NAX-0724/C.R.240/Spl-1B dated 17 August 2026, printed in the Maharashtra Government Gazette, Extraordinary, Part Four-B, Number 451, appoints 28 August 2026 as the date the provisions come into force. The duties and penalties on this page are live.

Do I have to give notice if only I am converting, and nobody is organising anything?

Section 6(1) covers both. It applies to any person who intends to convert from one religion to another, and separately to any person or institution which intends to organise a conversion ceremony. The sixty day notice is the same either way.

What happens if the twenty-one day declaration is missed?

Section 7(4) says that if the person or institution fails to submit the declaration, such conversion shall be null and void. That consequence is written into the Act itself, and it sits alongside, not instead of, the offences in Chapter IV.

Who is the Competent Authority for my area?

Section 2© defines it as the District Magistrate, or any officer authorised by the Government. In practice that means your District Collector and District Magistrate office, unless another officer has been authorised. An RTI for a copy of any authorisation under section 2© settles it for your district.

Are the notice and declaration forms available yet?

The Act does not contain them. Both are to be in the form and manner as may be prescribed, which means rules made under section 17. This page could not verify whether those rules have been notified, so ask the Competent Authority for your district, or ask under RTI.

Is an offence under this Act bailable?

No. Section 15 says that notwithstanding anything in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, every offence under the Act is cognizable and non-bailable, and that all offences are triable by the Court of Sessions. What that means in a particular case is a question for the court and for a lawyer, not for a web page.

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