Punjab: Mann govt to introduce fresh anti-sacrilege bill in assembly
The Punjab government has decided to call a two-day assembly session on July 10 and 11 to bring this new legislation, apart from tearing the Opposition on drug issues.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on last Saturday, during a meeting with representatives of the Sarb Dharam Beadbi Rokko Kanoon Morcha at his official residence, had announced to bring the new legislation.
Mann said the proposed legislation will provide harsher punishments, including life imprisonment and the possibility of capital punishment, for sacrilege of holy scriptures. He stated that the existing legal framework had loopholes that allowed perpetrators of such offences to escape with minimal consequences..
The state government is expected to convene a Cabinet meeting soon to finalise the draft bill before introducing it in the assembly.
The move revives the long-pending issue of anti-sacrilege legislation in the state.
In 2018, the then Congress-led government had unanimously passed two bills, amending the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to insert Section 295-AA. This section proposed life imprisonment for acts of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib, Quran, Bible and Bhagavad Gita.
While those bills were cleared by the Punjab governor, they have been awaiting Presidential approval for nearly seven years. Despite multiple appeals by successive governments, including the current AAP administration, to the Union home ministry and Rashtrapati Bhavan, no action has been taken.
In November 2024, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang had raised the matter in the Lok Sabha, urging the Centre to expedite the process, calling it an issue that affected 'millions of faith-driven citizens in Punjab.'
Mann pointed out that while the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provided provisions for religious places, it remained silent on desecration of religious scriptures.
He emphasised that the issue fell under the Concurrent List, allowing the state to enact its own law.
'We are hopeful that under the new BNS provisions the new legislation will pass through and get nod from the governor,' said an official dealing with the legislation. He said the old bills had been rendered irrelevant after IPC was replaced by BNS.
Notably, the BNS provisions for offences related to religion carry significantly lighter penalties than the life term — or even capital punishment — proposed under Punjab's upcoming legislation.
Section 298 of BNS entails imprisonment up to two years for injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class. Section 299 of BNS provides for a jail term up to three years for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Despite several attempts, parliamentary affairs minister Dr Ravjot Singh could not be contacted for comments.
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