Punjab Govt nod to amended sacrilege law
The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved stringent amendments to the law on sacrilege to make punishments more severe, including life imprisonment.
The Cabinet, in a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, cleared the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes enhanced penalties, including life imprisonment, to deter incidents of ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) and uphold the sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib.
According to an official statement, the move comes in view of past incidents of sacrilege that have hurt public sentiments and disturbed communal harmony.
It noted that existing provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, do not provide sufficiently stringent punishment.
The amended sacrilege law will be introduced in the Assembly on Monday.
“There have been several incidents in the past involving ‘beadbi’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and other holy scriptures, which have deeply hurt public sentiments by bruising their psyche and caused unrest in society.
“While Sections 298, 299, and 300 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 do address such matters, they do not prescribe sufficiently stringent punishments to serve as a strong deterrent against such acts,” said a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office.
