
Punjab Assembly refers anti-sacrilege bill to select committee for consultation
The 2025 Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill was tabled in the Assembly by the Aam Aadmi Party government on Monday.
The bill proposes strict punishment for desecration of holy scriptures, including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and the Quran.
It proposes minimum imprisonment of 10 years and a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh for persons found guilty of sacrilege, the newspaper reported. It also states that an attempt to commit such an offence may lead to a jail term of three years to five years and a fine up to Rs 3 lakh.
The bill noted that offences under the proposed law would be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, The Indian Express reported. The cases would be tried in a sessions court.
As per the bill, an offence is defined as sacrilege, damage, destruction, defacing, disfiguring, de-colouring, de-filling, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any holy scripture or its part, PTI reported.
On Monday, a government spokesperson told The Indian Express that there had been several incidents involving the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts.
This deeply hurt public sentiments and caused unrest in society, the spokesperson said, adding that sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita addressed such offences but did not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties to serve as an effective deterrent.
'Considering the gravity of such offences and the imperative to preserve communal harmony and religious sanctity, the Cabinet found it necessary to introduce state-specific legislation providing enhanced penalties – including life imprisonment – for those convicted of sacrilege against any holy granth,' The Indian Express quoted the spokesperson as saying.
During the discussion on the bill in the Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the proposed legislation would ensure that no heinous crime takes place by making a provision of the sternest punishment against culprits, PTI reported.
The special session of the Assembly had been called after the chief minister met representatives of the Sarb Dharam Beadbi Rokko Kanoon Morcha, an organisation whose activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa has been protesting atop a 400-foot telecom tower for 275 days demanding the law, The Indian Express reported.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
27 minutes ago
- India.com
Andhra Liquor Scam: YSR Congress Party MP Sent To Judicial Custody Till Aug 1
VIJAYAWADA: A city court on Sunday sent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP, P. V. Midhun Reddy, to judicial custody in the alleged liquor scam case. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which arrested the MP on Saturday night, produced him before the ACB court judge, who remanded him to judicial custody till August 1. Midhun Reddy, who is the YSR Congress Party's floor leader in Lok Sabha, will be shifted to Rajahmundry Central Jail. Midhun Reddy, who is a member of Lok Sabha from Rajampet constituency, is the accused number four in the case, registered last year after the TDP-led NDA came to power in the state. The SIT arrested Midhun Reddy on Saturday after questioning him for nearly seven hours at the SIT office here. His arrest came a day after the Supreme Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had also dismissed his petition. The MP allegedly played a key role in the excise policy and diverting kickbacks to shell companies. SIT reportedly found large-scale irregularities and fund misappropriation in the liquor policy implemented during 2019-24. During the arguments before the judge, senior lawyer Nagarjuna Reddy, who appeared on behalf of Midhun Reddy, opposed the SIT's plea for his judicial remand. He told the court that the Lok Sabha Speaker was informed about his arrest. The court was also informed that he served as the MP for three terms and also as a panel Speaker. He enjoys Y category security. The SIT counsel sought Midhun Reddy's judicial remand, saying he played a key role in the case. The court was told that there is clear evidence of the MP's role in the money trail. The SIT counsel explained the reasons for Midhun Reddy's arrest. The court was informed that the case has been registered under sections 409, 420 and 120 (B) read with sections 34 and 37 and sections 7, 7A, 8, 13 (1) (B), and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Midhun Reddy's arrest came hours after the SIT filed a preliminary chargesheet in the case. The SIT officials filed the 300-page chargesheet in the ACB court along with forensic lab reports. The court was informed that Rs 62 crore has been seized in the case so far. The SIT also examined 268 witnesses in the case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) initially conducted an investigation into the case last year following a complaint by an official of the Excise Department. Later, the TDP-led NDA government constituted an SIT, headed by NTR District Commissioner of Police SV Rajashekhar Babu, to probe the case. Investigators reportedly uncovered a kickback network involving nearly Rs 3,500 crore siphoned off over five years. There are allegations that the YSR Congress Party leaders encouraged a new liquor policy, floated new brands, and received kickbacks from the distillery companies, causing huge losses to the government. The SIT has already arrested 11 accused in the case. Those arrested in the case include Raj Kesireddy (alias Kesireddy Rajashekar Reddy), advisor to then chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, K. Dhanunjaya Reddy, a retired IAS officer and former secretary to Jagan Mohan Reddy, Krishna Mohan Reddy, former Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, former MLA.


New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Amit Shah directs formation of multi-disciplinary central team to visit disaster torn Himachal
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the formation of a multi-sectoral central team to visit Himachal Pradesh in view of the frequency and intensity of natural disasters in the state, officials said on Sunday. The officials stated that the team would comprise experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, a Geologist, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore. 'The Union Home Minister's direction came following a recent meeting in which he was apprised that Himachal Pradesh has witnessed an increase in the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides and torrential rainfall, causing widespread loss of life, damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and environmental degradation,' a senior official of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said. He said, further, in the wake of floods, flash floods and landslides during the South West monsoon 2025 in different parts of the state, the Centre has already deputed an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) in advance, without waiting for their memorandum, for on-the-spot, first-hand assessment of the damages. The IMCT has already started their visit to the affected areas on July 18 and would travel in the state till July 21, he said. He added that a high-level committee chaired by the Home Minister has already approved an outlay of Rs 2,006.40 crore to Himachal Pradesh for recovery and reconstruction in areas affected by disasters for the year 2023, and has also released the first installment of Rs 451.44 crore on July 7 this year.
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
27 minutes ago
- Business Standard
YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy sent to judicial custody till August 1 in liquor scam
YSRCP Lok Sabha member PV Midhun Reddy who has been arrested in the alleged 3,500 crore liquor scam case was remanded to judicial custody until August 1. He was produced before Vijayawada ACB court today, said a police official. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested Reddy on Saturday in the alleged liquor scam case involving liquor policy during the previous YSRCP regime. Earlier this morning, SIT officials took Mithun Reddy to a government hospital in Vijayawada, where doctors conducted medical examination. "The medical team found no health complications; hence, he was presented before the court as per legal protocol," the police official told PTI. The SIT probing the alleged liquor scam grilled Midhun Reddy for several hours on Saturday and followed it up with his arrest at around 7:30 pm in Vijayawada. YSRCP leaders called the arrest as targeting of opposition voice. Sources in the party told PTI, "We have vowed to fight back with stronger determination, TDP-led NDA government is targeting opposition voices unfairly". Meanwhile, YSRCP chief and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy condemned the arrest of Midhun Reddy. "This is nothing but a political conspiracy designed to silence those who stand with the people," said Jagan Mohan Reddy in a post on X. Midhun Reddy represents Rajampet constituency in Andhra Pradesh.