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Bengal Announces Legislative Push for Uniform Civil Code and Anti-Conversion Regulations

By The Legal Alpha Web Desk · 5 October 2026 · 5 min read
Bengal Announces Legislative Push for Uniform Civil Code and Anti-Conversion Regulations

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government intends to introduce statutory measures targeting unlawful religious conversions and land encroachments within six months. Addressing an event in Kolkata, the Chief Minister stated that the state will first enact a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) modeled along the lines of legislation enacted in Uttarakhand and Gujarat, before moving forward with targeted enactments against interfaith coercion and property alienation.

The state has previously constituted a high-level expert committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to formulate and review a draft UCC framework. The administration maintains that while state policies will strictly adhere to the constitutional framework, legislative intervention is required to secure cultural heritage and deter unlawful practices.

Legal Topic

Area of Law: Constitutional & Public Law

Sub-topic: Freedom of Religion / Legislative Competence & Uniform Civil Laws

Core Legal Issue

The core legal issue concerns the constitutional validity, legislative scope, and proportionality of proposed state-level anti-conversion and property-regulation statutes, particularly in balancing state regulatory power with fundamental freedoms.

Specifically, any future legislation regulating interfaith marriages, religious conversions, or communal property transactions must navigate the rights to equality, personal liberty, privacy, and religious freedom guaranteed under Articles 14, 21, and 25 of the Constitution. Courts have consistently required that state anti-conversion statutes demonstrate a legitimate state interest without infringing on individual autonomy or presuming coercion without evidence.

What Did the Court / Authority Decide?

The pronouncement represents an executive statement of legislative intent rather than an enacted statute or formal ordinance.

The state government has already established an expert drafting panel led by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (Retd.) to review personal law unification across succession, marriage, and guardianship. No bill has been formally tabled in the Legislative Assembly regarding anti-conversion or land transfer curbs; these proposals remain at the policy-formulation stage with an executive timeline of six months for formal introduction.

Key Legal Points

  • Sequencing of Legislative Reforms: The executive has outlined a two-tier legislative roadmap, prioritizing the enactment of a comprehensive state Uniform Civil Code before tabling separate criminal and regulatory statutes on conversions and land preservation.

  • Drafting Committee Scrutiny: An expert committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge continues to examine personal law reform across communities, creating a formal legal basis for any subsequent draft civil code.

  • Constitutional Limitations on Marriage and Faith: Prior judicial pronouncements from constitutional courts have clarified that consensual adult interfaith relationships fall squarely within the protection of personal liberty and privacy under Article 21, establishing strict thresholds for state interference.

  • Property and Land Tenures: Any legislative measures attempting to restrict land alienation or define unauthorized occupation through religious categorizations must align with the constitutional right to property under Article 300A and non-discrimination mandates under Article 15.

Relevant Law

  • Article 25 of the Constitution of India: Guarantees freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice, and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, and health.

  • Article 21 of the Constitution of India: Safeguards the right to life and personal liberty, which encompasses individual choice, privacy, and the autonomy to choose one's life partner (K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India; Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M.).

  • Article 44 of the Constitution of India: Directive Principle of State Policy directing the State to endeavor to secure for citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.

  • Seventh Schedule, List II (State List) & List III (Concurrent List): Entry 5 of List III governs marriage, divorce, and succession; Entry 1 of List II governs public order; and Entry 18 of List II governs land rights.

Arguments of the Parties

The State Government

The Chief Minister maintained that the government is obligated to preserve public order, curb coercive or deceptive religious conversions, and protect cultural and religious institutions from unauthorized alienation. The administration asserted that enacting standardized civil norms and preventive measures falls within legitimate sovereign functions to ensure parity and protect local communities from exploitation, while remaining fully compliant with constitutional guidelines.

Civil Liberties & Opposition Standpoints

Critics and civil rights litigators argue that specialized anti-conversion and property-curb measures often rely on vague definitions that risk penalizing lawful interfaith relationships and infringing upon individual agency. Legal commentators frequently caution that state-level variations in personal laws and anti-conversion statutes must not circumvent constitutional protections or facilitate procedural overreach by law enforcement against consenting adults.

Why Does It Matter?

This development signals a significant legislative shift in West Bengal's civil and regulatory policy landscape. If formulated into legislation, the proposed bills will directly impact personal status laws, interfaith marriages, and land transfer compliance in the state.

Beyond regional administration, West Bengal's intent to mirror UCC mechanisms from Uttarakhand and Gujarat reinforces the growing trend of individual states implementing uniform personal laws rather than awaiting central parliamentary action. Any finalized statutes will inevitably face judicial review, providing further opportunity for the Supreme Court and High Courts to clarify the boundaries between state regulatory power under public order and constitutionally protected personal autonomy.

Legal Takeaway

The announcement marks an executive intention to draft legislation regulating religious conversion, personal law, and land preservation within a six-month window. Because these areas intersect directly with core fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 25, any eventual enactments will face rigorous judicial scrutiny to ensure they do not infringe upon consensual adult autonomy or equal protection under the law.

Sources

Primary Source:

  • Official Policy Statement and Address by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Government of West Bengal (October 4, 2026).

  • Notification on the Constitution of the High-Level Committee on Draft Uniform Civil Code, Government of West Bengal.

Additional Sources:

  • Reports and verified coverage by Press Trust of India (PTI) and The Indian Express on executive legislative proposals in West Bengal (October 2026).

  • Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. (2018) 16 SCC 368 (Supreme Court of India).

  • Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 1 (Supreme Court of India).

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