Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Aimed to provide a stringent legal deterrent against attempts to disturb communal harmony through organised acts of desecration, the Punjab Assembly has unanimously passed the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, providing for life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 25 lakh for the sacrilege (‘beadbi’) of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The Bill also mandates the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) as custodian of all ‘saroops’. When the Bill was debated and passed in the one-day special session, members of the Sant Samaj and leaders of various religious sects were present.
The Bill defined sacrilege as “any wilful and deliberate act, committed with the intent of desecration by way of physical damaging, defacing, burning, tearing or theft of the Saroop(s) of Jaagat Jot Sri 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”.
Proposing fines ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, it also treats abettors, those who incite or facilitate the crime, on par with the primary offenders, making them liable for the same maximum punishment. As the AAP Government tabled the stringent amendment Bill, state Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains declared it a historic and uncompromising step towards justice.
Time-bound action
He said the Bill marked a sharp departure from previous regimes, with the Government asserting its intent to enforce strict, time-bound action and eliminate any scope for compromise in cases of ‘beadbi’.
The offence would be non-compoundable and cognisable, prohibiting out-of-court settlements and allowing warrantless arrests.
Bains said, “The law extends beyond the Sikh community, as Sri Guru Granth Sahib-ji is a revered scripture for Hindus, Muslims and all who cherish its message globally, thereby bringing peace to the minds of believers across faiths.”
