CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Monday tabled a stringent bill to tackle acts of sacrilege. The proposed legislation includes provisions that could lead to life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh for individuals found guilty of desecrating any religious scripture. Before this bill was introduced, the assembly was adjourned for an hour. During the break, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan called representatives of all parties to inform them about the bill’s introduction.Once the House reconvened, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann introduced the ‘Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025’. The bill mandates strict punishment for the desecration of holy scriptures including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran.Though the Bill was tabled in the assembly on Monday afternoon, discussion on it has been deferred till Tuesday morning as the Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa described the sacrilege issue as serious and urged the Speaker to hold the discussion on the bill on Tuesday. “I request you to discuss this on Tuesday. Legislators should ideally get 48 hours to study any bill. This bill will have to get the presidential assent later, so it is important that all party MLAs are well prepared for discussing the bill,” he said.Following the debate, the bill is expected to be referred to a select committee for discussions with all stakeholders.As per the bill, the offences under this law will be cognizable, non-compoundable, and tried by a sessions court. Police officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and above will be authorized to investigate such cases. Those convicted under the proposed law will also be liable to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh, which may be extended to Rs 10 lakh.The bill also includes punishment for abetment of sacrilege, as anyone who instigates or conspires to commit acts like damaging, destroying, defacing, decolouring, defiling, decomposing, burning, breaking or treating of any holy scripture or its part will face three to five years in jail, along with a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh.Before the start of the third day of the special session of the state assembly, the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture Bill, 2025 was cleared by the cabinet in a meeting.The government went ahead and tabled the bill in the state assembly amid growing political and public pressure for tougher punishment. Gurjeet Singh Khalsa has been protesting since October last year atop a BSNL tower in Samana (Patiala), demanding the death penalty for those found guilty of sacrilege.
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