Punjab assembly okays life term for sacrilege against Guru Granth Sahib

The AAP govt convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, for stricter punishment against sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Punjab assembly on Monday unanimously passed a bill proposing stricter punishment, including life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 25 lakh, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann presented the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, during a special session of the assembly here.

The AAP government convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, for stricter punishment against sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

After the bill was passed, Mann thanked the members of the House for supporting the Bill and said it would act as a strong deterrent against acts of sacrilege.

Mann also said the bill does not need to be sent to the President, adding that it requires only the Governor's assent.

The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposes stricter punishments to deter incidents of 'beadbi' (sacrilege) and uphold the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib.

According to the bill, any person who commits an offence of sacrilege of the 'Saroop(s)' (sacred scripture) of the Guru Granth Sahib under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to 20 years.

There shall also be a fine which shall not be less than Rs 2 lakh but which may extend to Rs 10 lakh.

Any person, who in criminal conspiracy, commits sacrilege with an intention to disrupt peace or communal harmony shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than 10 years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than Rs five 5 but which may extend to Rs 25 lakh, as per the bill.

Any person who attempts to commit an offence shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than 3 years but which may extend to 5 years, and shall also be liable to a fine which shall not be less than Rs 1 lakh but which may extend to Rs 3 lakh.

Sacrilege for the purpose of this Act means any willful and deliberate act, committed with the intent of desecration by way of physical damaging, defacing, burning, tearing or theft of 'Saroop(s)' the Guru Granth Sahib or part thereof, or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or through electronic means or otherwise, which is of such a nature as to hurt the religious feelings of persons professing the Sikh faith, as per the bill.

Key provisions of new sacrilege law

The investigation into the sacrilege offence will be conducted by a police officer, not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police or assistant commissioner of police.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee shall maintain a central register containing details with regard to the record of printing, storage, distribution, and supply of the 'Saroops' of the Guru Granth Sahib, as per the bill.

The register shall contain a unique identification number of each Saroop, date of printing and publication, date and place of supply, place of storage, and name and address of custodian.

The register or record shall be maintained in physical and electronic form, which shall be available on the website of the SGPC, it said.

Whosoever contravenes the provisions of this Act and rules framed thereunder, except the offence of sacrilege, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to five years and with a fine which may extend to Rs 10 lakh, as per the bill.

Every custodian receiving a Saroop shall ensure safe custody, protection from damage, misuse, or loss in any manner and observance of 'Sikh Rehat Maryada' (Sikh code of conduct).

The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, enacted during the earlier SAD-BJP government, grants exclusive rights to the SGPC to print and publish the Sikh holy book--Guru Granth Sahib.

Political reactions to the bill

Participating in the debate on the bill after it was introduced in the House, AAP MLA Inderbir Singh Nijjar said it has been a demand that there should be stricter punishment for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa supported the Bill. He, however, demanded that a select committee report on the Punjab Prevention of Offences against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025, be tabled in the House.

Bajwa asked the government whether it consulted constitutional experts before bringing the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

He also sought to know from the state government about the delivery of justice in the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters in Faridkot.

Former Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, Chief Minister Mann's wife Gurpreet Kaur, were also present in the House.

Govt stance on the legislation

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, in the recent past, there have been attempts to disturb peace and communal harmony in the state by committing sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

"The government is determined not to allow such incidents and ensure deterrent action against all those who commit such sacrilege.

Proposed 'The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026' aims to achieve this objective by providing punishment of life imprisonment for such acts of sacrilege," it said.

Earlier, the government had said that the existing provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) do not provide sufficiently stringent punishment for acts of sacrilege.

The acts of sacrilege against religious scriptures have been an emotive issue in Punjab. There has been a demand from various quarters for stringent punishment for the acts of sacrilege against religious texts.

It is not the first time that a law has been brought for stricter punishment for perpetrators of the sacrilege.

In 2016, the then SAD-BJP government brought in the IPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 and 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 Amarinder Singh government 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, Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible.

However, the two Bills did not get the President's assent.