{"id":55807,"date":"2025-08-04T14:14:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T08:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/?p=55807"},"modified":"2025-08-04T14:14:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T08:44:43","slug":"punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/","title":{"rendered":"Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Safeguarding Religious Sentiments or Curtailing Freedom of Expression?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Punjab&#8217;s CM Bhagwant Mann-led government proposed the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025\u2014toughened laws to punish sacrilege against books such as the Guru Granth Sahib, Quran, Bible, and Bhagavad Gita with 10 years to life imprisonment and \u20b910 lakh fine. Critics, however, say it closely resembles extreme sacrilege laws\u2014threats to free speech and due process. Let\u2019s unfold how all these issues started and how it is currently affecting the state of Punjab and the Nation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/DrCZVGM4qW9Bdn85IVR3R9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"159\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54967\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54-300x47.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54-768x119.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54-150x23.png 150w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-54-696x108.png 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_77 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#Key_Events_Happened\" >Key Events Happened\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#What_does_the_Bill_say\" >What does the Bill say?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#What_does_the_Government_say\" >What does the Government say?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#Voices_from_Punjab\" >Voices from Punjab&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#Committee_and_Its_Roles\" >Committee and Its Roles&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#Risk_towards_the_Aspirants\" >Risk towards the Aspirants&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-events-happened\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Events_Happened\"><\/span><strong>Key Events Happened\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before understanding the complete issue, you must know how things started to unfold in the first place:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Date&nbsp;<\/td><td>Event Happened&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>April, July 2025 l<\/td><td>Repeated sacred protests, including the tower sit by Gurjeet Khalsa.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>July 14, 2025&nbsp;<\/td><td>The Punjab Cabinet finally approves the anti-sacrilege bill<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>July 15, 2025&nbsp;<\/td><td>The law referred to a 15-member select committee.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>July 19, 2025&nbsp;<\/td><td>The Committee holds an inaugural meeting&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-does-the-bill-say\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_the_Bill_say\"><\/span><strong>What does the Bill say?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bill stipulates that any act of disrespecting the sacred texts is a crime that can be punished with the following penalties:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Ten years to life in prison and a fine of \u20b95\u201310 lakh or three to five years in jail plus a fine for attempting or aiding and abetting.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No parole for offences causing communal unrest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fines of up to \u20b920 lakh.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Special provisions for religious leaders, such as pastors and granthis, also apply the harshest penalties to them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bible, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib, and Bhagavad Gita are all protected, as are excerpts such as Gutkas and Pothis (Booklets).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Justification served says that the following repeated incidents, such as the Bargari-Behbal Kalan desecration episodes, Mann deemed the bill essential to prevent emotional harm and maintain interfaith harmony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-does-the-government-say\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_the_Government_say\"><\/span><strong>What does the Government say?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to CM Mann, the purpose of the Bill is to prevent emotional trauma in communities by protecting the &#8220;living Guru&#8221; (Guru Granth Sahib) and comparable sacred texts from grave violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The state of Punjab says that since the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita says nothing about the desecration of scripture, state-level laws with specific rules and regulations are necessary for the security of religious communities.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The pressure from the public Urgency was pushed by Gurjeet Singh Khalsa&#8217;s protest, which lasted 272 days atop a tower. His idealistic protest and invalid health status highlighted the need for action on this issue.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Inderbir Singh Nijjar (AAP) led a 15-member bipartisan Select Committee that included Congress, BJP, and SAD MLAs. Speaker Kultar Sandhwan stated his intention to hold expert, religious, and public consultations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-voices-from-punjab-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Voices_from_Punjab\"><\/span><strong>Voices from Punjab&nbsp;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporters&#8217; Response on the issue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Interfaith organisations and the AAP advocate for the law to prevent sacrilege and preserve communal harmony.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Bill was marked essential for the Punjabi community as a whole by Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During meetings with the speaker and committee heads, representatives of the interfaith delegation urged expeditious passage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Opponents&#8217; Response on this:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Congressman Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who opposed the Bill, said it was political planning that delayed prosecution and diverted the voters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SAD said that in the 2015 cases involving leader Ram Rahim, neither the AAP nor the Congress applied true justice; instead, they used the matter for political gain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SAD demanded action on expanding the law to include idols and other religious symbols too, while BJP MLAs called for the previous sacrilege allegations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-committee-and-its-roles-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Committee_and_Its_Roles\"><\/span><strong>Committee and Its Roles&nbsp;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>MLAs from various political and religious parties, including the AAP, Congress, BJP, and SAD, as well as the Advocate General as an ex officio member, constructed the 15-member Select Committee, which is chaired by Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar, where weekly meetings were planned, and public feedback channels such as WhatsApp and email were, also it was recommended that&nbsp; Within six months, draft recommendations must be submitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They will confer with civil society organisations, legal experts on constitutional rights, religious bodies and clergy, and victims or relatives of previous sacrilege incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The objectives of the committee are to clarify unclear clauses, guarantee safeguards against abuse, and strike a balance between civil liberties and enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-risk-towards-the-aspirants-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Risk_towards_the_Aspirants\"><\/span><strong>Risk towards the Aspirants&nbsp;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Punjab\u2019s long history of sacrilege incidents\u2014including 2015 Guru Granth Sahib desecrations and 2021 lynchings\u2014stoked public outrage. Advocates argue a strong law is overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, potential pitfalls include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Heightened vigilante actions based on unverified allegations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use of religious clauses to intimidate dissenters, artists, and journalists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legal overreach\u2014imprisonment without clear procedural safeguards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Law commentators emphasise that strong laws must include clarity on definitions, due process rights, appeal rights, and protection from mob misuse. Without these, enforcement may itself threaten the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Join&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/clat-coaching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLAT Course<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/clat-coaching\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-420x420.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-696x696.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM-1068x1068.jpeg 1068w, https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-1.04.11-PM.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FAQs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1754296862825\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What is the Anti-Sacrilege about, and how is it making its way forward?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">The Anti-Sacrilege says that any damage to any Indian scriptures and any associated item is a punishable offence under the proposed law. Only July 15, 2025, the draft of the bill was framed by the select committee of MLA\u2019s which was chaired by Inderbir Singh Nijjar.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1754296895980\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What are the penalties if the Anti-Sacrilege Law is violated?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Any individual who violates the Anti-Sacrilege law may face 10 years of life imprisonment with a fine of 5-10 lakhs. In case of any violence, the penalty may rise to 20 years of imprisonment and 20 lakhs of penalty money with no parole eligibility.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1754296912171\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Has Punjab tried to initiate any such laws before?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes, Different versions of the same bill were tried to pass in previous years, but unfortunately, those bills were returned by the president, and this is the third attempt to pass the Anti-Sacrilege bill in the state of Punjab.\u00a0<br\/><\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Punjab&#8217;s CM Bhagwant Mann-led government proposed the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025\u2014toughened laws to punish sacrilege against books such as the Guru Granth Sahib, Quran, Bible, and Bhagavad Gita with 10 years to life imprisonment and \u20b910 lakh fine. Critics, however, say it closely resembles extreme sacrilege laws\u2014threats to free speech [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":533,"featured_media":55811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1101,970],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Safeguarding Religious Sentiments or Curtailing Freedom of Expression? - iQuanta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check details about the ongoing controversy about Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Safeguarding Religious Sentiments or Curtailing Freedom of Expression?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Check details about the ongoing controversy about Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iQuanta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/iquanta.in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-04T08:44:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-04T08:44:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-02-at-5.18.50-PM.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nidhi Priya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nidhi Priya\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nidhi Priya\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/adcdac5052cbee8941c392ec44169ebd\"},\"headline\":\"Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Safeguarding Religious Sentiments or Curtailing Freedom of Expression?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-04T08:44:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-04T08:44:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\"},\"wordCount\":939,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"clat\",\"Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"FAQPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/punjabs-anti-sacrilege-bill-safeguarding-religious-sentiments-or-curtailing-freedom-of-expression\/\",\"name\":\"Punjab\u2019s Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Safeguarding Religious Sentiments or Curtailing Freedom of Expression? 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