Pune: Pune Police have withdrawn sections of the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act invoked in two cases after realising that the legislation is not yet in force, commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Tuesday. The Act, which criminalises religious conversion through coercion or fraud, is scheduled to come into force on August 26, 2026, according to a government notification.
The Act was also invoked in a separate case registered at Khadak police station against a UK-based Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder accused of attempting to induce people to embrace a religion through faith-based gatherings. Police had initially invoked the Act in a case registered at Fursungi police station on August 5, in which a 22-year-old man is accused of forcing his minor wife to convert to his religion.
The remaining provisions invoked in the two cases will continue to apply and the investigations will proceed, police said.
