Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance

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
Date passed	13 December 2013
Enacted by	Legislative Council
Date passed	18 December 2013
Date assented to	20 December 2013
Legislative history
Bill introduced in the Legislative Assembly	Maharashtra 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 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. The act criminalises practices related to black magic, human sacrifices, use of magic remedies to cure ailments and other such acts which exploit people's superstitions.

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.

The current bill has 12 clauses which criminalise only the following acts:

Although the human sacrifice is already considered murder in India, encouraging human sacrifice has been criminalised in this law. 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.

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.

The original bill of 2003 was drafted by Narendra Dabholkar. In July 2003, the draft was approved by the state government. The bill was sent for ratification to the Union government by Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in August 2003. However, it was criticised for having poor definitions of terms like superstition, black magic, spells, sorcery etc. The bill was not presented in the winter session of the legislature.

...
Wikipedia