The Aam Aadmi Party government on Monday tabled the anti-sacrilege Bill in the Punjab assembly, proposing punishment up to life imprisonment for sacrilegious acts against religious scriptures.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann introduced the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025 in the Vidhan Sabha on the third day of the special assembly session.
Leader of opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa described the sacrilege issue as serious one and urged Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to hold the discussion on the Bill on Tuesday, the concluding day of the session.
Before the start of the session at 2pm, the state-specific Bill was cleared by the cabinet at a meeting chaired by chief minister Mann at his official residence in Chandigarh.
The Bill mandates strict punishment, extending up to life imprisonment, for the desecration of holy scriptures, including Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran, an official spokesperson said after the meeting.
With the enactment of the 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, said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said there have been numerous incidents in the past involving the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other scriptures, wounding public sentiments and causing unrest in society.
