The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved stringent amendments to a 2008 law on “sacrilege”, proposing stricter punishments including life imprisonment for offences involving the Guru Granth Sahib, The Indian Express reported.
The Cabinet cleared the 2026 Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Amendment Bill, which also includes a fine ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
The decision follows several incidents of “beadbi [sacrilege]” that have “deeply hurt public sentiments” and caused unrest, according to a govenrment statement.
It said that existing provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 298, Section 299 and Section 300 “do not prescribe sufficiently stringent punishment to act as an effective deterrent”, the newspaper reported.
Section 298 penalises damaging or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult a religion. While Section 299 pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, Section 300 deals with causing disturbance to a lawful religious assembly or ceremony.
Stronger legal measures were required to safeguard the sanctity of the religious scripture and promote communal harmony, the statement added.
State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the bill would be tabled in the Assembly during a special session on Monday, The Indian Express reported. He added that investigations into such offences would be conducted by an officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police.
Cheema said the proposed law includes provisions to punish those who mastermind “sacrilege” through a person with mental disability, as part of a conspiracy, the newspaper reported.
Replying to a question on whether the law would apply to other religious texts, he said it would apply only to acts involving the Guru Granth Sahib, The Indian Express reported.
The proposed amendment came amid long-standing demands in the state for stricter laws punishing such acts. Previous attempts in 2016 and 2018 to introduce similar legislations, including provisions for life imprisonment, did not become law as they either failed to receive a presidential assent or had lapsed, The Times of India reported.
State government data showed that nearly 597 cases of “sacrilege” were reported in the past decade, including 480 involving Sikh scriptures and shrines, 92 related to Hindu religious sites, 14 to Muslim shrines and texts and 11 to Christian places of worship, the Hindustan Times reported.
Only 44 of the first information reports resulted in convictions.
Also read: A man on a cellphone tower in Punjab is at centre of gathering protest for anti-sacrilege law
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