Mumbai churches collect worship “consent forms” as Maharashtra anticonversion law takes effect

Maharashtra’s Freedom of Religion Act 2026 took effect August 28, criminalizing forced conversion and requiring anyone who wants to change faith to give district authorities 60 days’ notice, Christianity Today reported. CT said churches across Mumbai and neighboring cities have been collecting consent and self-declaration forms from worshipers as a preventive step.

The forms have circulated as photocopies and on WhatsApp, CT reported. They typically ask for a passport-sized photograph plus name, contact details, address, and a government ID number, and they state that the declaration can be used as evidence if someone files a false complaint. The Straits Times, as cited by CT, said as many as 4,000 churches in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are collecting the forms.

Anxiety is highest among home churches and storefront congregations, CT reported. Mainline denominations in Mumbai have said they are not asking worshipers to sign the forms, and a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay told CT the concern is greater among those smaller gatherings.

CT reported that a conviction for unlawful conversion can carry up to seven years in prison without bail and a fine of 100,000 rupees. Critics, including the Joint Civil Society group cited by CT, say vague terms such as “allurement” leave the law open to misuse. Maharashtra joins 12 other Indian states with similar laws, according to CT.