Anti-Superstition

and Black Magic Act

The Maharashtra Prevention and

Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other
Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and
Black Magic Act, 2013 is a criminal law
act for the state of Maharashtra, India,
originally drafted by anti-superstition
activist and the founder of Maharashtra
Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS),
Narendra Dabholkar (1945-2013) in
2003.[1] The act criminalises practices
related to black magic, human sacrifices,
use of magic remedies to cure ailments
and other such acts which may exploit
people's superstitions.[2]
 Maharashtra Prevention and
Eradication of Human Sacrifice and
other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori
Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013

Citation Maharashtra Act No.

XXX of 2013

Territorial extent Maharashtra

Enacted by Legislative Assembly

Passed 13 December 2013

Enacted by Legislative Council

Passed 18 December 2013

Assented to 20 December 2013
Legislative history

Bill introduced in the Maharashtra

Legislative Assembly Prevention and
Eradication of Human
Sacrifice and other
Inhuman, Evil and
Aghori Practices and
Black Magic Bill, 2013

Bill published on 11 December 2013

Introduced by Shivajirao Moghe

Related legislation

Maharashtra Ordinance No. XIV of 2013

Status: In force

The list of banned activities was

continually reduced over the years. In the
aftermath of Dabholkar's murder, the
resulting bill was promulgated on 26
August 2013, and was formally introduced
in the winter session of Maharashtra
Legislative Assembly in Nagpur in
December 2013.[2]

Overview
The current bill has 12 clauses which
criminalise only the following acts:[3]

Assault, torture, forced ingestion of

human excreta, forced sexual acts,
branding etc. on the pretext of
exorcising ghosts from an allegedly
possessed person.
Claiming and broadcasting the ability to
perform miracles and defrauding or
terrorising people by such means.
Carrying out or encouraging acts which
endanger life or cause grievous injury in
order to gain supernatural powers.
Carrying out or encouraging inhuman
acts or human sacrifice in quest of
some bounty or reward.
Creating the impression that a person
has supernatural powers and compelling
people to follow his/her orders.
Accusing a person of practising black
magic or being an incarnation of saitan,
blaming him/her of causing diseases or
misfortune, and harassing the person.
Accusing a person of practising black
magic, parading him/her naked and
hindering the person's activities.
Claiming the ability to invoke ghosts,
causing a panic or intimidating others by
threatening to invoke ghosts, or creating
the impression of possession,
preventing the person from seeking
medical treatment, and compelling
him/her to inhuman acts.
Preventing a person from seeking
medical advice in case of dog, snake, or
scorpion bite, and compelling him/her to
take magic remedies.
Claiming to perform surgery by fingers
(psychic surgery) and claiming to
change the sex of an unborn foetus.
Claiming to be related to a person from
a previous incarnation and coaxing them
to sexual acts, and claiming to have
supernatural power to cure an impotent
woman and having sexual relation with
the woman.
Claiming a mentally challenged person
to be having supernatural powers and
using such a person for personal gain.
Although the human sacrifice is already
considered murder in India, encouraging
human sacrifice has been criminalised in
this law.[3] Each infraction carries a
minimum sentence of six months and a
maximum sentence of seven years,
including a fine ranging from ₹5,000 to
₹50,000. The offences are non-bailable
and cognisable.[4]

The law directs the appointment and

training of vigilance officers, to investigate
and report these crimes to the local police
station. The ranks of these officers are to
be greater than the rank of a police
inspector.[5][6][7]
History
The original bill of 2003 was drafted by
Narendra Dabholkar.[1] In July 2003, the
draft was approved by the state
government.[8] The bill was sent for
ratification to the Union government by
Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in
August 2003.[9] However, it was criticised
for having poor definitions of terms like
superstition, black magic, spells, sorcery
etc.[1] The bill was not presented in the
winter session of the legislature.[8]

The bill was revised and redrafted by

rationalist Shyam Manav. This draft was
presented as Maharashtra Eradication of
Black Magic and Evil and Aghori Practices
Bill, 2005.[1]

The bill was introduced for the first time in

the Legislative Assembly in the winter
session of 2005.[10] The bill, was adopted
by the Assembly on 16 December 2006,
the last day of the session. The ruling
Congress government faced criticism from
the lack of debate from the opposition
BJP and Shiv Sena.[11]

In 2006 there were protests against the bill,

including at a demonstration in Pune on 25
February 2006. Protesters, including the
Art of Living Foundation and Hindu
Janajagruti Samiti claimed the bill gave the
police power to search, seize or arrest on
mere suspicion. Professor Shyam Manav,
president, Akhil Bharatiya Andhshraddha
Nirmulan Samiti (ABANS), a major force
behind the Bill, refuted these claims:
“Under IPC, if anyone is obstructing the
work of cops, he can be punished. We have
made a comprehensive Bill to weed out
crimes against people due to
superstition.” [12] At the rally a
spokesperson for Janajagruti Samiti,
Ramesh Shinde, said that the bill was
redundant, violated religious freedom and
did not acknowledge divine power. I. A.
Khan, the caretaker of the Haji Malang
Dargah, agreed and added that the bill was
influenced by "foreign ideas".[13]

The bill was not presented in 2006

monsoon session. A Congress MLA on the
condition of anonymity acknowledged that
they didn't want to upset their
constituencies ahead of the elections.[14]

In 2007, instead of being sent to the

second house of the legislature, the
Legislative Council, it was forwarded to an
investigative committee.[15]

In July 2008, volunteers from the

Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan
Samiti (MANS)(Maharashtra Blind faith
Eradication Committee) staged a protest
in Mumbai to draw attention to the bill,
where the protesters slapped themselves.
They claimed that it was to remind
themselves that, they had elected the
wrong representatives who were not
interested in the people's welfare.[16]

On 8 November 2010, Narhari Maharaj

Chaudhari, the secretary of Maharashtra
State Warkari Mahamandal representing
the Warkaris, criticised the bill in a press
conference stating that it has no clear
definition of mental and physical torture.
He also stated that it could be used to
criminalise every Hindu ritual. He claimed
the bill to be redundant as human sacrifice
already comes under Indian Penal Code.
He defended the Wakari ritual of wari and
called for the bill to be scrapped.[17]

On 5 April 2011, Dabholkar, talking at a

press conference, criticised television
programmes promoting superstitions and
called for the bill to be passed. A rally was
held at Azad Maidan on 7 April to
awareness about the bill.[18] On 7 April
2011, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar
stated that the bill will be introduced in the
budget session while responding to MLA
Chainsukh Sancheti's queries about child
sacrifices. Pawar clarified that the bill will
not affect Wakari rituals or any other
religious rites.[19]

On 7 July 2011, MANS secretary Milind

Deshmukh and Dabholkar stated that an
anti-superstition bill had been promised by
the government since 7 July 1995 but
never passed. They started a telegram-
sending campaign to draw attention to the
issues and also urged local leaders to
send telegrams to the Chief Minister.[20]

On 20 August 2013, Narendra Dabholkar,

the architect and lead campaigner behind
the bill, was shot dead, while he was out
on a walk. His death triggered protests
and demands for the bill to be passed
were made.[21]

On 21 August 2013, the Maharashtra

government approved the bill as an
ordinance. On 24 August 2013, K.
Sankaranarayanan, the Governor of
Maharashtra signed the ordinance. The
ordinance will remain in effect until
December 2013, when it will be tabled at
the winter session of the state
legislature.[2] As of August 2013, the bill
has been tabled thrice in the Legislative
Assembly and had failed to pass each
times, and has undergone 29
amendments.[22]

On 4 September 2013, the ordinance was

used for the first time to arrest two
individuals in the Nanded district, who had
advertised miracles cures for AIDS, cancer
and diabetes in a newspaper. Members of
MANS helped the police understand which
clause would be applicable.[23] On 8
September 2013, a man claiming to be an
avatar of Krishna was arrested in Kandivali
under this ordinance. He was also charged
under the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act for molestation.[24]
The bill to enact the law was titled the
Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of
Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil
and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill
2013, also known as the Anti-Superstition
Bill, Black Magic Bill, Anti-Jaadu Tona Bill
or Jadu Tona Andhshradha Virodhi
Bill.[25][26] It was introduced in the
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on 11
December 2013 by State Social Justice
minister Shivajirao Moghe.[27] The bill was
passed by the Legislative Assembly on 13
December[28][29] and by the Legislative
Council on 18 December 2013.[30][31] The
bill received assent from Governor
Kateekal Sankaranarayanan on 20
December 2013.[32]

The bill enacted into law applies only in the

comparatively well-off and well-educated
state of Maharashtra. In the rest of India
the population remains without
comparable protection from fraudulent
pretend-healers and other miracle fakers.
Narendra Dalbholkar's daughter, Mukta,
and other activists continue his campaign
for a national-wide anti-superstition
law.[33][34]

Criticism and support

The bill has been criticised for being anti-
Hindu and anti-religion.[1][35]

Dabholkar had responded to the criticism

of the bill being anti-religious by stating
that the bill does not mention god or
religion, and that only targets fraudulent
practices.[35]

Manav said that the Wakari sect will not

find the bill objectionable, further saying
that the law does not prohibit a person
from performing a miracle. However, it is a
crime if a person claims to perform a
miracle and cheats someone.[36]
In the aftermath of Dabholkar's murder,
journalist Ellen Barry wrote an article for
the New York Times about the murder and
interviewed a sociologist at the University
of Pune about the bill, who explained that
the bill had been continually watered down
over the years, due to rising opposition
from Hindus and affected castes, stating:

What today stands as the draft

legislation is a much mellowed-
down position. It is a slippery
area that we are talking about
— what is faith, and what is
 blind faith. There is a very thin
line dividing it.[37]

See also
Godman (India)
Superstition in India
Drugs and Magic Remedies
(Objectionable Advertisements) Act,
1954

Further reading
"Maharashtra Ordinance No. XIV OF
2013 (Full Text)" (PDF). Bombay High
Court. Archived from the original (PDF)
 on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October
2013.

References
1. "Bold but fuzzy" . Frontline. 12 August
2006. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
2. "The anti-black magic and superstition
ordinance has been promulgated in
Maharashtra" . DNA India. 24 August
2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
3. "What the anti-superstition bill is
about" . DNA India. 26 August 2013.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
4. "Anti-Superstition Ordinance Brought" .
Daily Pioneer. 28 August 2013.
 Retrieved 5 October 2013.
5. "Govt to back anti-superstition bill:
Prithviraj Chavan" . The Times of India.
12 July 2013. Retrieved 8 November
2013.
6. "Government to train senior police
inspectors to implement act" . The
Times of India. 9 September 2013.
Retrieved 8 November 2013.
7. "Maharashtra's delayed move on black
magic" . The Indian Express. 29
August 2013. Retrieved 8 November
2013.
8. "Anti-superstition bill gathers dust" .
Tehelka. 17 July 2004. Archived from
 the original on 12 October 2013.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
9. "Check spiritual frauds, exhorts social
activist" . The Times of India. 5 August
2003. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
10. "Anti-superstition Bill introduced" . The
Hindu. 15 December 2005. Retrieved
5 October 2013.
11. "Bill against superstition adopted" .
The Times of India. 17 December
2005. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
12. Religious groups fear ‘black magic’ of
police
13. "Religious groups fear 'black magic' of
police" . DNA India. 26 February 2006.
 Retrieved 5 October 2013.
14. "Mahim brings faith bill to fore" . DNA
India. 20 August 2006. Retrieved
5 October 2013.
15. "Anti-superstition bill continues to
attract sceptics" . DNA India. 5 May
2011. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
16. "Activists take punishment to open
eyes" . Gulf News. 18 July 2008.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
17. "Scrap anti-superstition bill" . The
Indian Express. 9 November 2010.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
18. "Rally to press for anti-superstition
bill" . The Times of India. 5 April 2011.
 Retrieved 5 October 2013.
19. "Anti-superstition Bill to be ready in this
session: Ajit" . The Times of India. 8
April 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
20. "Putting pressure: Cable campaign for
anti-superstition bill" . DNA India. 7
July 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
21. "Rationalist Dabholkar shot dead" .
The Hindu. 20 August 2013. Retrieved
5 October 2013.
22. "Maharashtra to issue anti-superstition
ordinance" . The Hindu. 22 September
2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
23. "Anti-superstition law draws first
blood" . The Hindu. 5 September
 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
24. " 'Lord Krishna' held under anti-
superstition law" . DNA India. 11
September 2013. Retrieved 5 October
2013.
25. "Guv signs anti-superstition and black
magic ordinance" . Sakal Times. 25
August 2013. Retrieved 5 October
2013.
26. "CM failed to discuss Anti-Jaadu Tona
Bill" . DNA India. 6 August 2013.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
27. Staff Reporter. "Anti-Superstition bill
introduced in Maharashtra Assembly" .
 The Hindu. Retrieved 22 October
2015.
28. "Anti-superstition bill clears first
hurdle" . hindustantimes.com/.
Retrieved 22 October 2015.
29. "Anti-superstition Bill passed by
Maharashtra Assembly" . Retrieved
22 October 2015.
30. "Maharashtra Legislative Council
Passes Black Magic Bill" . The New
Indian Express. Retrieved 22 October
2015.
31. http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdis
play.aspx?f4ec9346-b68c-4aa9-96be-
58eaa4f0b24f
32. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from
the original (PDF) on 20 December
2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
33. "Dabholkar aides meet Rahul, Pawar
for central anti-superstition law" . First
Post (India). 18 September 2013.
Retrieved 5 October 2013.
34. "National anti-black magic bill
required: Dabholkar's daughter" . The
Hindu. 16 September 2013. Retrieved
5 October 2013.
35. "Narendra Dabholkar: India's
Maharashtra state bans black magic
after killing" . BBC News. 21 August
2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
36. "Anti-superstition law drafted in such a
way that Warkaris will not oppose it:
Shyam Manav" . DNA India. 27
September 2013. Retrieved 5 October
2013.
37. Ellen Barry (24 August 2013). "Battling
Superstition, Indian Paid With His
Life" . New York Times. Retrieved
8 April 2016.

External links
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan
Samiti (AntiSuperstition.org) founded
by Narendra Dabholkar
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anti-
Superstition_and_Black_Magic_Act&oldid=894404
974"

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