Amritsar:
The Akal Takht Assembly on Friday formally rejected the recently enacted controversial new sacrilege law, which provides for life imprisonment and a fine of up to $25 lakhs for any act of “sacrilege” against the Guru Granth Sahib. It also issued a 15-day ultimatum to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party to remove the objectionable clauses.
The development came hours after Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan appeared before acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargag and Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Tek Singh Dhanola to discuss the controversial new anti-sacrilege legislation.
“The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will not comply with the requirements of the law by uploading records of the ‘scriptures’ of the Guru Granth Sahib” to a government-controlled website. Religious records and administration of the sanctity of the living Guru remain the exclusive domain of the Panth (Sikh community) and cannot be subjected to state-mandated digital surveillance,” Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj said.
The Jagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, enacted by the Punjab Assembly, provides for stringent punishment, including life imprisonment and a fine of up to $25 lakhs for the ‘Bidbi’ (sacrilege) of the Guru Granth Sahib. It was approved by Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on April 17 this year.
Asserting that the Akal Takht Sahib had no objection to imposing strict punishment on those guilty of sacrilege, the Jathedar warned the Bhagwant Mann government that if it did not remove the provisions offensive to Sikh sentiments from the amended law within 15 days, a meeting of five Singh Sahib (Sikh clergy) would be convened by the Sri Akal Takht Sahib and strict action would be taken in the matter.
He also told Sandhwan that Sri Akal Takht Sahib will provide the Punjab government with a panel of legal experts and Sikh judges who can help build consensus around the law.
These developments came a day after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann began the four-day ‘Shukrana Yatra’ on Wednesday to “express gratitude to Almighty God for blessing us with the opportunity to serve humanity by enacting the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2026, which provides for harsher punishments in ‘beadbi’ cases.”
“The temporal authorities cannot claim victory on matters of faith without the consensus of the sangat (community),” said Jathedar Gargaj, who described the yatra as an insult to Sikh traditions.
Speaking to reporters later, Sandhwan refused to comment on the proceedings and defended the law, saying: “I have conveyed that we are committed to the Panth and will act in accordance with its sentiments. What we actually did was in accordance with the sentiments of the Panth.”
Responding to allegations that the SGPC was not consulted, Sandhwan added: “Nothing like that. We got an advertisement published in newspapers and sought suggestions before legislating. A stricter law for sacrilege offenders was the need of the hour and we did it. Rest, Jathedar Sahib has his own points about this law; only he and his representatives can explain them. If there are concerns about it, they can be addressed in the rules to be made stipulated in this law.”
