The first five and a half years of Madhya Pradesh's stringent anti-religious conversion law branded in political circles as the 'Love Jihad' law paint a picture far removed from its stated intent.
What was introduced as a tough legal shield to stop forced conversions has, in reality, seen more accused walk free than end up behind bars.
The Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Ordinance, brought into force in January 2020, and its successor, the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act, 2021, promised uncompromising action against religious conversions through coercion, deception, or marriage.
Yet, the figures tabled by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government in the Assembly on Tuesday have shaken even seasoned political observers.
Between January 1, 2020, and July 15, 2025, a total of 283 cases were registered across the state under the law.
Of these 197 cases, nearly 70% are still pending in various courts.
In the remaining 86 cases where trials have concluded or settlements have been reached, the numbers tell a story of collapsing prosecutions: 50 acquittals, just 7 convictions, and one case that ended in a mutual compromise.
The convictions themselves are scattered. A lone life sentence in a case from Agar-Malwa's Nalkheda police station; a 10-year jail term in a Mandsaur case involving rape charges; two convictions from Dhar, and one each from Burhanpur and Rewa districts.
So why is the law faltering in court?
According to senior police sources, the primary reasons are flimsy evidence and hostile witnesses.
In case after case, women initially presented as victims have told courts they entered into relationships or marriages with men of another religion of their own free will, living with them without fear or inducement.
In some cases involving minors, families admitted that FIRs were filed under societal pressure, only to retract their statements later, dismantling the prosecution's case.
The data also reveals troubling demographics.
Out of the 283 cases, 71 victims were under the age of 18.
Most incidents have emerged from the communally sensitive and tribal-dominated Malwa-Nimar region. Indore tops the list with 74 cases (26% of the total), followed by Bhopal (33), Dhar (13), Ujjain and Khandwa (12 each), Chhatarpur (11), and Khargone (10).
The government has attempted to project renewed seriousness, informing the Assembly that in May this year it formed a state-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-examine every case filed under the law so far.
The Act itself prescribes harsh penalties: forced conversion can attract 1-5 years in prison and a fine up to Rs 25,000; if the victim is a minor, woman, or belongs to SC/ST, punishment rises to 2-10 years and a fine up to Rs 50,000; concealing religion before marriage can result in 3-10 years' imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine; and mass conversions carry 5-10 years in prison with fines up to Rs 1 lakh.
Despite these provisions, the law's enforcement track record appears weak, a fact critics say undercuts its deterrent effect.
And now, the political rhetoric is heating up again.
In March, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that the government is considering amending the Act to make 'Love Jihad' punishable by death, a move that would make Madhya Pradesh's legislation one of the harshest of its kind in the country.
