Latest news with #PunjabPreventionofOffencesAgainstHolyScripture
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Punjab Vidhan Sabha sends anti-sacrilege Bill draft to select committee for consultation with public and all stakeholders
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday unanimously referred the draft of the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill 2025, which provides punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilege, to a select committee that will discuss the legislation with the public and all stakeholders and submit its suggestions within six months. Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said he would constitute the select committee comprising representatives of all political parties. Earlier, speaking about the Bill, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann suggested the Bill should not be passed in haste. 'I propose it should be handed over to the select committee. Let us not pass it in haste. Let us seek the opinion of the 3.5 crore people of the state. Let us give it three to four months. People should also feel that they have been consulted. It is their Bill,' he said. Mann asked the Speaker to make it time-bound, 'There should be nominees of all political parties. Let us talk to the public like the parliamentary standing committee. The select committee can talk to the public.' The Speaker said the select committee should be given six months. Mann then asked if the select committee could submit its report in four months. The Speaker said that six months would be the upper limit of the deadline. Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said, 'Six months would be appropriate. The committee should not take longer.' The Speaker then asked the House if the proposal should be passed unanimously and all legislators passed it unanimously. Mann introduced the Bill in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday. It came up for a debate in Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. After the debate, it was referred to the select committee. The offence(s) punishable under this Act shall be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, triable by a session court. The investigation of the offence (s) punishable under this Act shall be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police. According to the draft Bill, any person who commits an offence under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 10 years and which may extend to life imprisonment, and shall also be liable to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh which may extend upto Rs 10 lakh. Any person who attempts to commit an offence under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years and which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine which may extend up to Rs 3 lakh. Any person who abets to commit an offence under this Act shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for the offence, said the draft. An Act or offence is said to be committed in consequence of abetment when it is committed in consequence of the instigation, or in pursuance of the conspiracy, or with the aid which constitutes the abetment. The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force. To remove any difficulty in the implementation of the provisions of this Act or to remove any ambiguity, the state government may, by an order published in the official gazette, make such provision not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, but no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of commencement of the Act. The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. According to the statement of objectives and reasons of the Bill, there have been attempts to disturb the peace and communal harmony in the state by committing sacrilege of the Sri Guru Granth SahibJi, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the Quran, and other holy scriptures. The government said it was determined not to allow such incidents and ensure deterrent action against all those who commit such sacrilege. The proposed Bill aims to achieve this objective by providing life imprisonment for acts of sacrilege. In the draft, 'holy scriptures' are defined as any of the scriptures considered sacred and held as 'holy' by respective religious denominations and may include the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, or extracts thereof including Pothis and Gutka Sahib, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the Quran, and the Bible. An 'offence' means and includes any sacrilege, damage, destruction, defacing, disfiguring, decolouring, defiling, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any holy scripture or part thereof. The words and expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the same meanings as, respectively, assigned to them in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. While BNS sections 298, 299, and 300 address such issues, they do not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties to serve as an effective deterrent, a Cabinet note said. The Cabinet note stated that there have been numerous incidents in the past involving the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji and other revered holy books, deeply wounding public sentiment and causing unrest in society. 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 scripture, the note added.
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Life term, ₹10 lakh fine, no parole: AAP govt's across-faith anti-sacrilege Bill in Punjab explained
The Aam Aadmi Party government on July 14 introduced in the Punjab Assembly an anti-sacrilege bill, proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilegious acts against religious scriptures. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tabled the 'Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill 2025' in the House for discussion. The Speaker deferred the discussion on the bill for Tuesday after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa pointed out that, considering the seriousness of the issue, they need time to prepare to effectively express their viewpoints on the bill. Before the start of the third day of the special session of the state Assembly, the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, was cleared by the cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mann here. The proposed law mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of holy scriptures, including the Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran, an official spokesperson told news agency PTI after the cabinet meeting. Any person found guilty of sacrilege may face imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life. The guilty shall also be liable to pay a fine of ₹ 5 lakh which may extend up to ₹ 10 lakh, the bill proposes. Those attempting to commit the offence may be sentenced to three to five years and shall also be liable to pay a fine which may extend up to ₹ 3 lakh, as per the Bill. If such an offence leads to communal riots, or causes loss of human life or damage to public or private property, the punishment may range from 20 years to life imprisonment, with a fine of ₹ 10-20 lakh, the bill proposes. There is no provision for parole or furlough for those who receive the maximum sentence or fail to pay the fine. Individuals found abetting the crime will be punished in accordance with the offence committed. The proposed law also covers religious figures such as granthis, pathi singhs, sevadars, ragis, dadhis, prabandhaks, pandits, purohits, maulvis and pastors appointed to perform religious duties related to their holy scriptures. If found guilty of sacrilege, they will be punished under the highest category of the offence, the bill proposes. Under the Bill, offence means any sacrilege, damage, destruction, defacing, disfiguring, de-colouring, de-filling, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any holy scripture or part thereof. The offences punishable under this Act shall be cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable and will be tried by a session court. The investigation of the offence under this Act shall be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police, as per the Bill. Once passed, this legislation will be implemented in the entire state of Punjab. The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force, it said. It is not the first time a bill has been introduced to impose stricter punishments on perpetrators of sacrilegious acts. In 2016, the then SAD-BJP government introduced the IPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, and CrPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016, recommending alife sentence for sacrilegious acts against the Guru Granth Sahib. The Centre later returned the bill, saying that, given the secular nature of the Constitution, all religions should be treated equally. In 2018, the Amarinder Singh government had passed two bills - the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018', and 'the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2018', which stipulated a punishment of up to life imprisonment for injury, damage or sacrilege to Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible. However, the two Bills did not get with the President's assent and were returned. Following the discussion on Tuesday in the House, the Bill is expected to be sent to a select committee for taking the opinion of stakeholders. Mann had earlier said that the state government would seek the opinion of all stakeholders and religious bodies for the proposed legislation, indicating that it would not be enacted immediately. The bill deals with an emotive issue in Punjab, as there has been a demand from various quarters for stringent punishment for acts of sacrilege against religious texts after the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 in Faridkot. With the enactment of the law, the State seeks to further strengthen the ethos of communal harmony, brotherhood, peace, and amity, a government spokesperson told news agency PTI. It will also act as a strong deterrent against anti-social and anti-national activities by ensuring severe punishment for perpetrators of this heinous crime, said the spokesperson. There have been numerous incidents in the past involving the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other revered granths, deeply wounding public sentiments and causing unrest in society, the spokesperson said. Over 100 incidents of sacrilege have been reported in the past five years alone, according to the state Intelligence Department. In 2016, desecration of the Quran was reported in Malerkotla and later in Sangrur; torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found in a park in Amritsar in 2018, leading to protests; and a gurdwara was vandalised in Tarn Taran and Guru Granth Sahib was desecrated in 2018. While sections 298, 299 and 300 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, address such issues, they do not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties to serve as an effective deterrent. However, until now, no specific legislation existed that directly addressed offences against 'holy granths', often resulting in leniency or evasion of serious action by culprits, said the spokesperson. The enactment of the law seeks to further strengthen the ethos of communal harmony, brotherhood, peace, and amity. This new legislation aims to fill that legal void by criminalising and prescribing punishments for acts of sacrilege across all sects and faiths.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
AAP vs Congress After Chief Minister Tables Anti-Sacrilege Bill In Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh: The Punjab Assembly witnessed uproar today when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government tabled the anti-sacrilege bill, proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilegious acts against religious scriptures. The 'Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill 2025 was presented by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the House for discussion. However, the discussion has been deferred to Tuesday after the Leader of Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, said that the members need time to prepare to keep their viewpoints effectively on the bill. How can we debate on such a delicate issue without going through the draft? asked the Congress leader. After the proceedings of the house, Bhagwant Mann said that very serious issues were discussed in the assembly. "I introduced the bill. It should be considered immediately. The opposition leader of the house, Pratap Singh Bajwa ji is saying that he has no information about the bill. It is sad that if he does not have information about the desecration of Guru Sahib, then where has he been? Ask a five-year-old child what happened in Bargari? What happened in Behbal Kalan? What happened in Kotkapura? He says that he will come tomorrow after preparing. We said okay. Surprisingly, the Congress has to prepare even in the case of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib. They cannot talk without doing homework. No problem, come tomorrow after preparing. We will discuss tomorrow," he said. "This is an issue close to our heart. We hope that this bill will be passed tomorrow and will be passed unanimously. This is a very big bill; Punjab is the only state that is bringing this bill. I will again tell the Congress that today they were not prepared; come prepared tomorrow," said the Chief Minister. Mr Bajwa criticised Mr Mann for his remarks and explained his party's stance, saying, "You must have seen that the session was called special, but there is no preparation. The serious issue that every Punjabi is worried about is the issue of sacrilege. The Punjab Chief Minister had promised that if his party comes to power, it will do justice in sacrilege cases within 24 hours. But even today, after three and a half years of this government, they do not even have a rough draft ready for this. You will be surprised that a similar bill was brought by the Congress government in 2018. I would like to tell the House that the bill was passed unanimously. Every party, including AAP, Akali Dal and BJP, passed it unanimously. We are surprised that first a two-day session was given to us, then an attempt was made to put a gun on our shoulder by putting it in our account and then, on the request of the opposition, the session was extended by two days. The two days that were given to us by the Speaker, our purpose was to discuss law and order. We wanted to discuss the land pooling policy for one day." "Today, there was a meeting of all the parties with the Speaker, and everyone said that the serious issue of sacrilege should be discussed in a good atmosphere. The speaker gave us a paper fifteen minutes ago. Are we computers that we can know immediately by pressing a button? This is a technical and legal issue. Therefore, it is necessary to study it. I came to know that a little while ago, Mr Mann said that Bajwa sahab said that we are not ready, we need time tomorrow. I have to say with regret that our Chief Minister also needs to show seriousness on the issue of sacrilege. While the head of his party was also present at the meeting, everyone agreed that it should be discussed seriously. If a person disrespects any religious text, they should not go unpunished. The rest of the discussion will take place in the morning. The speaker has scheduled a discussion on it tomorrow," he said. Continuing the tirade, Mr Bajwa said, "The 24-hour promise made by Mann and his party and (Arvind) Kejriwal to the whole of Punjab has not been fulfilled even after three and a half years. They have not been able to get the bill passed to date, which was unanimously sent to the President in 2018. We will bring the real face of the government in front of the people." Before the start of the third day of the special session of the state Assembly, the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, was cleared by the cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mann here. The bill mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of holy scriptures, including the Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran, an official spokesperson said after the cabinet meeting. Under the Bill, offence means any sacrilege, damage, destruction, defacing, disfiguring, de-colouring, de-filling, decomposing, burning, breaking or tearing of any holy scripture or part thereof.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Punjab Assembly tables draft Anti-Sacrilege Bill which mandates strict penalties, including life imprisonment
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday tabled in the state Assembly the draft Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, also known as the Anti-Sacrilege Bill, which mandates enhanced penalties, including life imprisonment, for those convicted of sacrilege-related crimes. After the Bill was tabled, Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa sought that the debate on the draft Bill should take place on Tuesday as they need time for the same. The Speaker then announced that the Bill will be debated on Tuesday. The Bill covers sacrilege against sacred books including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Holy Bible, and Quran Sharif, among others. Under the proposed law, any person found guilty of sacrilege may face imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life. Those attempting the offence may be sentenced to three to five years, while individuals found abetting the crime will be punished in accordance with the offence committed. 'With the enactment of this law, the State seeks to further strengthen the ethos of communal harmony, brotherhood, peace, and amity. It will also act as a strong deterrent against anti-social and anti-national activities by ensuring severe punishment for perpetrators of this heinous crime,' a government statement said. It added that no specific legislation existed that directly addressed offences against holy granths, often resulting in leniency or evasion of serious action by the culprits. This new Act aims to fill that legal void by criminalising and prescribing punishments for acts of sacrilege across all sects and faiths. The government had summoned a special session of Vidhan Sabha to table the Bill following protests by Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, a Patiala native who has been protesting atop a telecom tower seeking stricter legislation over sacrilege involving holy books. The Cabinet note stated that there have been numerous incidents in the past involving the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and other revered books, deeply wounding public sentiment and causing unrest in society. While sections 298, 299, and 300 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) address such issues, they do 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, it said.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Punjab bill proposes life term if acts of sacrilegelead to riots, deaths
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann (File photo) CHANDIGARH: The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government has drafted a stringent new law on sacrilege, proposing prison terms of up to life for desecration of holy scriptures and holding guardians liable if juvenile or differently abled people on their watch commit the offence. Titled Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Act, 2025, the bill prescribes a minimum sentence of 10 years for sacrilege. If such acts lead to communal violence causing death or damage to property, punishment could range from 20 years to the remainder of natural life, plus fines between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. Parole or furlough will be barred for convicts receiving the highest punishment or defaulting on fines. A second or repeat conviction may result in life imprisonment or incarceration for the convict's natural life. Those tasked with religious duties - face the harshest punishment if found guilty under the proposed legislation. Parents or natural guardians who "deliberately or otherwise omit or fail to perform their duty to control and manage" juveniles or differently abled people accused of sacrilege will also be held accountable under the law. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The bill covers conspiracy, abetment, or obstruction of religious practices. Instigators or those disturbing religious ceremonies will be prosecuted under the same law. The draft defines sacrilege as any act of "insult, dishonour, damage, defacing, disfiguring, de-colouring, defiling, decomposing, burning, breaking, or tearing" of sacred texts, or any act intended to cause such damage. Holy scriptures listed include Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Quran Sharif, and the Bible. The bill mandates three to five years of jail and up to Rs 3 lakh fine for attempted sacrilege.
