The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved stringent amendments to a 2008 law on “sacrilege”, proposing stricter punishments including life imprisonment for offences involving the Guru Granth Sahib, The Indian Express reported.
The Cabinet cleared the 2026 Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Amendment Bill, which also includes a fine ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
The decision follows several incidents of “beadbi [sacrilege]” that have “deeply hurt public sentiments” and caused unrest, according to a govenrment statement.
It said that existing provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 298, Section 299 and Section 300 “do not prescribe sufficiently stringent punishment to act as an effective deterrent”, the newspaper reported.
Section 298 penalises damaging or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult a religion. While Section 299 pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, Section 300 deals with causing disturbance to a lawful religious assembly or ceremony.
Stronger legal measures were required to safeguard the sanctity of the religious scripture and promote communal harmony, the statement added.
State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the bill would be tabled in the Assembly during a special session on Monday, The Indian Express reported. He added that investigations into such offences would be conducted by...
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