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Punjab anti-sacrilege Bill sent to assembly select committee
Committee will submit its report on the Bill within six months after seeking opinion of religious leaders and community at large on proposed legislation that mandates up to life term for desecration of scriptures.
A Bill proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilege was on Tuesday sent to a select committee of the Punjab assembly for it to seek public opinion on the proposed legislation.
On the concluding day of the special session of the assembly, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said the panel will submit its report on the Bill within six months. The House unanimously passed the resolution moved by the Speaker.
Earlier, chief minister Bhagwant Mann proposed the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, be sent to the House panel that may include representatives of all political parties for it to seek the opinion of the people and religious bodies. Mann said widespread consultation from all religious bodies is required to make the Bill more effective. “We are not in haste to pass the bill. The select committee would take feedback from religious bodies. Maybe someone comes up with a unique input on this issue,” he said.
Mann had introduced the anti-sacrilege Bill in the House on Monday, saying there must be stringent punishment for those involved in the desecration of religious scriptures. On Tuesday, the House held a discussion on the issue for around four hours. While wrapping up the discussion, Mann referred to the sacrilege incidents of 2015 under the SAD-BJP rule and said there cannot be a bigger crime than sacrilegious acts.
The state-specific proposed law was cleared by the cabinet in a meeting chaired by the chief minister before the House resumed proceedings on Monday afternoon.
Strict punishment
It mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of scriptures, including Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran, an official spokesperson said after the cabinet meeting on Monday.
According to the Bill, any person found guilty of sacrilege may face imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life term. The guilty shall also be liable to pay a fine of ₹5 lakh, which may extend up to ₹10 lakh.
Those attempting to commit the offence may be sentenced to three to five years and shall also be liable to pay a fine which may extend up to ₹3 lakh, according to the Bill. Individuals found abetting the crime will be punished in accordance with the offence committed.
Under the Bill, offence means any sacrilege, damage, destruction, defacing, disfiguring, de-colouring, de-filling, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any scripture or part thereof.
Once enacted, offences punishable under this legislation shall be cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable and will be tried by a session court. The probe shall be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police.
Emotive issue
Sacrilege has been an emotive issue in Punjab. There has been a demand from various quarters for stringent punishment for sacrilege after the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 in Faridkot district.
This proposed legislation aims to fill that legal void by criminalising and prescribing punishments for acts of sacrilege across all sects and faiths.
It is not the first time that a law has been brought for stricter punishment for perpetrators of sacrilege acts. In 2016, the then SAD-BJP government brought in the IPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the CrPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, recommending a life sentence for sacrilege acts against Guru Granth Sahib. The Centre later returned the Bill, saying all religions should be treated equally, given the secular nature of the Constitution.
In 2018, the then Congress government led by Capt Amarinder Singh had passed two Bills -- the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2018, which stipulated a punishment of up to life imprisonment for injury, damage or sacrilege to Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible. However, those two Bills did not get with the President’s assent and were returned.
