Bengaluru, Dec. 19 -- The Karnataka assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill aimed at curbing caste and community driven exclusion, which, if enacted, would make it the second state after Maharashtra to criminalise the practice. The Social Boycott Prevention Prohibition and Redressal Bill, introduced on December 12 by social welfare minister HC Mahadevappa, establishes criminal penalties for imposing or enabling social exclusion through informal community mechanisms. The law prescribes imprisonment of up to three years, a fine that may extend to Rs.1 lakh, or both. Legislators from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal Secular (JD(S))welcomed the passage of the bill. The legislation outlines 20 forms of exclusion, including denying a person the right to work, hire services, conduct business, or participate in social and religious life on the same terms as others....