Days after a man from the minority community was arrested in Bareilly under the new ‘love jihad’ law passed by the Uttar Pradesh government, cops intervened and stopped an inter-faith wedding ceremony from taking place in Lucknow.
The incident took place at the DUDA Colony in Lucknow’s Para locality on Wednesday night when a Hindu woman was about to tie the knot with a Muslim man. Cops intervened in spite of the consent of both families for the solemnisation of the marriage ceremony.
According to sources, Lucknow Police instructed the families to follow interfaith marriage rules under the Special Marriage Act and also apprised them of the new ‘love jihad’ law against forced religious conversions. Both families then decided to defer the ceremony for a later date.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Suresh Chandra Rawat said, “The police received information about the interfaith marriage and upon reaching the spot it was found that the marriage was being solemnized with the consent of both the families. The families were asked to follow the due process for inter faith marriage, and were also told about the new ordinance to check religious conversions by force, allurement, etc.”
He said that the couple may get married without changing their religion under the Special Marriage Act, though if they want to convert, they need to submit a declaration at least two months in advance to the District Magistrate or Additional Magistrate.
UP Governor Anandiben Patel had on Saturday approved the Prohibition of Law against Religious Conversion Ordinance 2020, being touted as the ‘love jihad’ law. As per the Ordinance, a provision of harsh punishment of up to 10 years in jail has been made if anyone is found guilty of forcefully converting another individual.
