A high-level sub-committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday sought clarity from the Punjab government over the proposed “Punjab Prevention of Offences against Sacred Religious Scriptures Bill, 2025”, saying recent statements by chief minister Bhagwant Mann have created confusion regarding its scope.
On March 21, the CM announced that the government will convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on April 13 to amend the “Jagt Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008”, and bring in a stricter law against sacrilege (‘beadbi’).
Meeting at its Chandigarh sub-office, the 15-member panel, chaired by Justice Mohinder Mohan Singh Bedi (retd), said the CM’s remarks appeared to conflate the proposed 2025 Bill with the existing 2008 Act, which governs the printing, publication and distribution of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The panel said the proposed legislation under its review is distinct and pertains to acts of sacrilege against religious scriptures of all faiths. Members expressed concern that the government’s statements were blurring the distinction between the two laws.
The sub-committee also noted that despite the CM’s assertion that amendments to the 2008 Act would follow consultations with stakeholders, no such engagement has taken place with the SGPC, nor has any draft amendment been shared.
{{/usCountry}}The sub-committee also noted that despite the CM’s assertion that amendments to the 2008 Act would follow consultations with stakeholders, no such engagement has taken place with the SGPC, nor has any draft amendment been shared.
{{/usCountry}}Raising issues of transparency, the panel said repeated requests for key documents and details related to the 2025 Bill — including shortcomings in earlier sacrilege Bills passed in 2016 and 2018, objections raised by the Centre and proposed safeguards against misuse — have gone unanswered.
The committee also flagged errors in the Punjabi translation of the draft Bill and said multiple communications sent to the Punjab home department and the Vidhan Sabha secretariat have elicited no response so far.