Punjab Anti-Sacrilege Law Gets Governor's Assent: Life Term, ₹25 Lakh Fine

The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act-2026 has become law after Governor Gulab Chand Kataria gave his assent. The legislation prescribes life imprisonment for organised acts of desecration

Arvind Chhabra

Chandigarh, April 19

Punjab’s stringent anti-sacrilege legislation has received the Governor’s assent and is now enforceable as law, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced on Sunday.

The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act-2026 amends the original 2008 legislation and prescribes life imprisonment and fines of up to ₹25 lakh for acts of organised sacrilege (beadbi) against the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha had passed the bill unanimously during a one-day special session held on Baisakhi last Monday in a specially convened session. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has now given his assent, completing the legislative process.

What the law provides

For any individual found guilty of sacrilege of a saroop of the Guru Granth Sahib, the law prescribes imprisonment of not less than seven years, extendable up to 20 years, along with a fine between ₹2 lakh and ₹10 lakh.

Significantly stricter penalties apply when sacrilege is carried out as part of a criminal conspiracy with intent to disrupt peace or communal harmony — imprisonment of not less than 10 years, extendable to life, along with fines up to ₹25 lakh.

The law also makes those who abet or attempt an offence equally accountable. An abettor faces the same punishment as the principal offender. Attempted sacrilege attracts imprisonment of not less than three years, extendable up to five years, and a fine of up to ₹3 lakh.

All offences under the Act are classified as cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable, and are to be tried by a sessions court. Investigation must be conducted by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police.

What is the history and politics of the new law? Here’s a detailed North Desk Explainer

SGPC saroop register

The law inserts a new section mandating the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to maintain a central register of all saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib, allotting each a unique identification number. The register must document details of printing, storage, distribution, and supply, and is to be maintained in both physical and electronic form and made available on the SGPC’s website.

Custodians of a saroop are required to ensure its safe custody and observe the Sikh Rehat Maryada. Any damage, disappearance, or suspected sacrilege must be reported to police and the concerned management authority.

Mann: ‘Final law, no loopholes’

Announcing the Governor’s assent on X, Bhagwant Mann said the amended law would put an end to incidents of desecration and called it the most comprehensive legal framework enacted on the subject.

“The previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments not only failed to take sacrilege cases to a conclusive end, but also passed ineffective laws that failed legal scrutiny,” Mann had said at the time of the bill’s passage. “This is the final law. It covers all aspects, creates the toughest legal framework, and shuts all scope for loopholes.”

The law replaces the terms “bir” and “birs” with “saroop” and “saroops” throughout the 2008 legislation.