Why Punjab’s anti-sacrilege law has triggered a row with Akal Takht | Explained
The story so far: On June 29, Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal seat asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab to revise
The story so far: On June 29, Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal seat asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab to revise the recent legal amendments made in the anti-sacrilege law – The ‘Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment), Act 2026’, which the Akal Takht asserted was passed by the State government without the opinion and consent of the Akal Takht, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which oversees the administration of historical Gurdwaras and Khalsa Panth (Sikh community). A special meeting was convened in Punjab’s Amritsar by Akal Takht to discuss the issue of the anti-sacrilege law, in which Sikh Cabinet Ministers of the Punjab government and Sikh MLAs, including those from different political parties, participated. Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj asked the government to amend the legal amendment again as per Sikh sentiments and eliminate the objectionable clauses within a month’s time. This year, on April 13, the Punjab State Assembly unanimously passed The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at harsher punishment for sacrilege of the living Guru Sahib, including life imprisonment. It amended the ‘Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act of 2008’, which was enacted during the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party tenure in 2008, to ensure proper respect and care of the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’, revered as the eternal “living” Guru of Sikhism. What’s in the Act? The State government, in its objective behind the amendment, noted that in the recent past, there have been attempts to disturb peace and communal harmony in Punjab by committing sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.
The government is determined not to allow such incidents and to ensure deterrent action against all those who commit such sacrilege. The amendments aims to achieve this objective by providing punishment of life imprisonment for such acts of sacrilege. The amended Act says any person who commits an offence of sacrilege of the Saroop(s) [physical copies] of Guru Granth Sahib shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to a fine which shall not be less than two lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees. Also, any person who in criminal conspiracy commits an offence of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib with the intention to disrupt peace or communal harmony shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees. The sacrilege offences under this law will be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, besides it would be holding even those aiding sacrilege equally accountable. Also, it includes a clause that holds the guardians of an offender legally accountable for acts of sacrilege. The definition of ‘custodian’ has been introduced, making each custodian fully responsible for the safe custody, protection, and prevention of misuse or loss of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The BriefWire