Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks during the budget session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh | Photo credit: ANI
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On 13 April, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed the ‘Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026’, which aims to impose stricter punishment for sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, including life imprisonment. It proposes to amend the 2008 law passed under the Shiromani Akali Dal–Bharatiya Janata Party government. A series of so-called sacrilege incidents in recent years have prompted successive governments to push for legislation. In 2016, the SAD-BJP government passed two amendments – the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2016 and the Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2016 – prescribing life imprisonment for desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, but the Center returned them, saying that all secular religions must be treated equally. In 2018, the Congress government re-introduced two amendments, but they did not receive presidential assent. Last year, the Aam Aadmi Party government introduced the Punjab Anti-Scripture Bill, which was subsequently sent to a select committee for consideration.
Published – 19 Apr 2026 03:30 IST
