- The Punjab anti-sacrilege bill was sent to a select committee including Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan
- The BJP had questioned the lack of feedback from political and social parties on the bill
- Similar bills were attempted in 2016 and 2018 but did not receive presidential approval
The anti-sacrilege bill, meant to introduce stringent punishment for desecration of religious scriptures - be it Guru Granth Sahab, Gita, Quran or the Bible -- did not get passed in the Punjab assembly today despite there being a broad consensus on the need for tougher laws.
The Punjab Prevention of Crimes Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025 -- which proposed life imprisonment for culprits -- was sent to a select committee.
The BJP had raised questions over the bill, asking why feedback from political and social parties was not sought. The Congress wanted more time to scrutinise it.
The Select Committee will include assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and it would take the opinion of all stakeholders and submit its report within six months. The proposal related to this was passed unanimously in the Assembly.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told the assembly that unlike earlier, those who desecrate the holy scriptures will get exemplary punishment once the bill is passed.
"Whenever incidents of desecration took place, our heart used to break. But till date there was no such concrete law in this matter. The culprits used to come out after serving the sentence after a short time. Therefore, it was very important that anyone who desecrates any religious text should get exemplary punishment," he said.
Punjab has been trying to pass an anti-sacrilege bill since several instances of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib about a decade ago.
Attempts were made in 2016 and 2018 to pass similar bills.
In 2016, the Centre thumbs downed the IPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 and CrPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, saying all religions should be treated equally given the secular nature of the Constitution.
In 2018, the Amarinder Singh government passed two similar bills which did not get the President's nod.
The current bill has provisions for strict punishment including life imprisonment for the desecration of holy scriptures.
Till now, cases involving desecration of religious texts were filed under IPC and later BNS Sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments, carrying a jail term of 3 years, fine or both), 299 (outraging religious feelings carrying a three-year jail term, a fine or both) and 300 (disturbing religious assemblies carrying a one-year jail term, a fine or both).
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