Anti-sacrilege bill tabled in Punjab assembly

Hindustan Times

14 hours ago

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday tabled the anti-sacrilege bill in the Punjab assembly, proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilegious acts against religious scriptures. Chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann during the 3rd day of Punjab assembly session in Chandigarh on Monday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann introduced the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025 in the Vidhan Sabha on the third day of the special assembly session. The bill mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of holy scriptures.
This is the third attempt by the Punjab assembly to enact a bill on sacrilege issues, seeking harsher punishment for perpetrators. In 2016 and 2018, the SAD-BJP government and later the Congress government, respectively, passed the bills in the assembly. On both occasions, the bills were returned by the President without assent.
According to the draft of the bill, the minimum punishment for sacrilege will be imprisonment not less than 10 years, which may extend to life imprisonment, and shall also be liable to pay a fine of ₹5 lakh, which may extend up to ₹10 lakh.
In case of an attempt to commit an offence, the act will carry a punishment of imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years.
'This term may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine which may extend up to ₹3 lakh,' the bill reads. The provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force, the draft reads.
The 'offence' means any sacrilege, damage, destruction, de-facing, disfiguring, de-colouring, de-filing, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any Holy Scripture, or part thereof, the bill introduced on Monday reads further.
The bill says the offences punishable under this shall be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, triable by the court of session.
'The investigation of the offence(s) punishable under this act shall be conducted by the police officer, not below the rank of deputy superintendent,' it adds.
Upon the introduction of the bill, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa described the issue as a serious one and urged speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to hold the discussion on the bill on Tuesday, the concluding day of the session.
To this, CM Mann also asked the speaker to consider Bajwa's plea positively.
'However, it's a matter of surprise that the opposition needs time to discuss the issue of sacrilege which has been hounding Punjab since 2015,' Mann said.
The speaker adjourned the session for 15 minutes before announcing that it had been decided to have a discussion on the bill on Tuesday.
Before this, the speaker had adjourned the proceedings for one hour and called leaders of all parties in the assembly before the start of the discussion.
Earlier, before the start of the session at 2 pm, the state-specific bill was cleared by the cabinet at a meeting chaired by chief minister Mann at his official residence in Chandigarh.
The bill mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of holy scriptures, including Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and the Quran, an official spokesperson said after the meeting.
With the enactment of the law, the state seeks to further strengthen the ethos of communal harmony, brotherhood, peace, and amity. It will also act as a strong deterrent against anti-social and anti-national activities by ensuring severe punishment for perpetrators, the official spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said there have been numerous incidents in the past involving the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other scriptures, wounding public sentiments and causing unrest in society.
While Sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments, carrying a jail term of 3 years, fine or both), 299 (outraging religious feelings carrying 3-year punishment, fine or both) and 300 (disturbing religious assemblies carrying 1-year jail, fine or both) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, address such issues, they do not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties to serve as an effective deterrent, said the spokesperson.
Considering the gravity of such offences and the imperative to preserve communal harmony and religious sanctity, the cabinet found it necessary to introduce state-specific legislation providing enhanced penalties, including life imprisonment, for those convicted of sacrilege against any scripture, the spokesperson added.Consulting stakeholder
Until now, no specific legislation directly addressed offences against 'holy granths (books)', often resulting in leniency or evasion of serious action by culprits, said the spokesperson.
This new legislation aims to fill that legal void by criminalising and prescribing punishments for acts of sacrilege across all sects and faiths.
The spokesperson said there is also a provision for setting up special courts to deal with cases pertaining to desecration of scriptures. There will be no parole for those guilty of sacrilege acts.
Mann had earlier said that the state government would seek the opinion of all stakeholders and religious bodies for the proposed legislation, indicating it would not be enacted immediately. 'We are drafting it. A law is going to be enacted. But for this, we will talk to stakeholders and religious organisations. We will present the draft legislation (in the assembly).'
Past attempts
This is not the first time that a specific law dealing with sacrilege acts has been brought in the state seeking a stricter punishment for perpetrators.
In 2016, the then SAD-BJP government brought in the IPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 and CrPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, recommending 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 Amarinder Singh government 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, Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible.
However, the two bills did not get the President's assent.
Acts of sacrilege against religious scriptures have been an emotive issue in Punjab and there has been a demand from various quarters for stringent punishment for the acts of sacrilege against religious texts.
In 2015, the incident related to the theft of a 'bir' (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari, had taken place in Faridkot. These incidents had led to anti-sacrilege protests. In the police firing on anti-sacrilege protesters in October 2015, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some persons were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.
Regulating crusher units
HT Correspondent
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Chandigarh The Cabinet also approved the Punjab Regulation of Crusher Units, and Stockists and Retailer Rules, 2025, to ensure that crusher units, stockists, and retailers operate within a regulated framework. These rules have been formulated pursuant to the Punjab Regulation of Crusher Units, and Stockists and Retailer Act, 2025, which was enacted to prevent the procurement of illegally mined sand and gravel by crusher units.
The new rules define detailed procedures, prescribed forms, timelines, authorities, and compliance mechanisms to facilitate effective, transparent, and accountable implementation of the Act. They aim to eliminate ambiguity in operational processes, prevent royalty evasion and illegal mineral trade, and promote environmentally sustainable and legally compliant business operations. Furthermore, these regulations are expected to enhance transparency and curb illegal mining practices across the state.