This bill has been named 'Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill-2026'.

There should be no doubt that the anti-sacrifice bill passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday in a one-day special session is a step in the right direction. Despite this fact, there are obstacles like the assent of the Governor or the President in the way of this bill becoming a law. Therefore, the implementation of the provisions of this bill may take time. This bill has been named 'Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill-2026'.

It provides for imprisonment of 7 to 20 years and a fine of Rs 2 to 10 lakh for those found guilty of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. An even higher punishment is proposed against sacrilege with the intention of disturbing social/religious harmony. This will be in the form of imprisonment from 10 years to life and a fine of Rs 5 to 25 lakh. Those who help in sacrilege have also been made a part of severe punishments. These punishments can also be equivalent to the punishment for sacrilege. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann claims that due to the strict provisions of this bill, no one will dare to desecrate Guru Granth Sahib. He also claims that through this bill, his government has removed the shortcomings and shortcomings in the efforts of previous governments. 

Such claims are weighty, but their real test will be only after the bill becomes law. For now, the satisfaction is that the bill was passed unanimously in the Vidhan Sabha and all but one absent Akali legislator clearly supported the bill. However, when there is a discussion on the beliefs related to 'Jagat Jyot' in the Vidhan Sabha or any other legislative house, then the politics of slander should be avoided.

But such politics, perhaps, has taken root in our political leaders to such an extent that they do not want to miss any opportunity to verbally manipulate their political opponents. The same thing happened in the House on Monday too. Political analysts believe that when a bill is brought for the purpose of fulfilling political objectives, then slanderous politics cannot be avoided. Despite such thinking and understanding, it is not unnatural to hope that the habit of discussing matters related to religious beliefs in a constructive manner instead of in a belligerent manner should become a feature of our legislative houses. The 'Jagat Jyot Bill' was the opportunity to initiate this habit, which the Vidhan Sabha missed. 

This is the third (or fourth) attempt in the last decade that the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has approved tougher punishments to curb the evil of sacrilege. The sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib is a very emotional issue for Punjabis, especially the Sikh community. In 2015, to counter the situation arising from the spate of sacrilege cases, the then Akali-BJP government had brought the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Amendment Bill, which proposed life imprisonment for those who desecrate Guru Granth Sahib. The bill was returned to the Vidhan Sabha by the Central Government on the grounds that in a secular nation, the provision of life imprisonment in the case of only one religion is not justified; the bill should relate to the sacrilege of holy scriptures of all religions.

In 2018, the Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh also got the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill passed unanimously by the Vidhan Sabha. But it too did not get the assent of the President. Apart from Guru Granth Sahib, the Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, Quran Sharif and Anjeel (Bible) were also included in this bill. The AAP government had also introduced a similar bill last year which was later referred to a select committee.

In such a situation, it is natural to raise concerns about the future of the current bill, even though the Hon'ble Government has made a serious effort to remove the shortcomings of the previous bills through this bill. The provision of preliminary investigation of every case by an officer of the DSP/ACP level is an important part of the above-mentioned trickery to prevent misuse of the provisions of the bill or to reduce the scope of its use as a weapon against political opponents.

In view of such a difficulty, it should be hoped that the Respect Bill will not be made a part of a political tug-of-war at the level of the Governor or the Central Government and that even at that stage, the political and administrative approach towards this Bill will be of the same spirit as the unanimous approach shown by the Legislative Assembly.