GUWAHATI: The Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill 2024, was presented in the state assembly on Wednesday (February 21).
Introduced by Assam parliamentary affairs minister Pijush Hazarika, the bill aims to prohibit magical healing practices, primarily to curb evangelism.
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The legislation aims to foster a socially aware and scientifically grounded environment to safeguard public health from harmful practices rooted in ignorance and exploitation.
It targets the elimination of “non-scientific healing practices used with malicious intent to exploit innocent individuals” in Assam.
Section 3 of the bill empowers the government to ban evil or magical healing practices for specific diseases and health disorders, while Section 4 allows for the prohibition of misleading advertisements related to such practices.
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Key provisions include Section 5, which enables the government to penalize any act or promotion of such practices, with Section 6 prescribing imprisonment up to three years, a fine of Rs 50,000, or both for offenders.
Repeat offenders could face up to five years in jail or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both.
Additionally, Section 9 empowers the government to designate police officers as vigilance officers to address such cases, while Section 16 grants authority to frame rules for implementing the bill’s provisions.
The bill’s introduction follows the Assam cabinet’s decision to address magical healing practices.
However, the Assam Christian Forum criticized the chief minister’s assertion equating magical healing with proselytization, labelling it “misguided and misleading”.
The forum emphasized that healing is a compassionate response to human suffering, irrespective of religious affiliations, underscoring the profound spiritual dimensions of faith and life that labelling prayer as magical healing oversimplifies.