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Punjab's New Anti-Sacrilege Bill: Decoding its Provisions and What it Means for Justice in the State

Legalwiki

31 Jul 2025 — 5 min read

Author: Anand Dhakad, Law Student, National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi

INTRODUCTION

Punjab, being the state with strong religious roots, has always struggled with the agonising trauma and social anger generated through acts of sacrilege, especially of the sacred Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Such vandalism has traditionally spurred calls of some kind of legal crackdown and sparked off communal acrimony. It is on this backdrop that the government of Punjab has come up with the Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025. The aim mentioned in this new formulation of laws is straightforward that is, to maintain religious and communal harmony and take a penal measure against the individuals who commit such an offense. Fundamentally, the Bill seeks to increase the penalties on sacrilege crimes by far greater margins than the current statutes and this may go as far as life imprisonment.

Key Provisions of the Punjab Bill: A Closer Look

The Punjab Bill introduces several key provisions that mark a significant departure from current legal frameworks:

1. Expanded Definition of “Holy Scriptures”: Unlike previous attempts by the state or general provisions under central laws, this Bill explicitly lists the religious texts it seeks to protect. These are as follows: Sri Guru Granth Sahib (and Pothis and Gutka Sahib), Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Quran Sharif and Holy Bible. This wide inclusion depicts a wide approach with the purpose of safeguarding the religious sensitivities of large groups of people living in Punjab. Most importantly, it implies that any form of desecration carried out against any of these mentioned texts will be covered by the scope of the Bill and not just that involving Sikhism.

2. Comprehensive Definition of “Offence”: The definition of “offence” in the Bill, is extremely broad in scope: this includes all manner of acts: "any sacrilege, damage, destruction, de-facing, de-figuring, de-colouring, de-filing, decomposing, burning, breaking, or tearing of any Holy Scripture, or part thereof." Such a broad definition is supposed to allow no or minimal ambiguity, trying to cover just about any desecration and hence serve as a sizeable deterrent.

3. Stringent Punishments: This is arguably the most impactful aspect of the new Bill. For a full offence of sacrilege, the Bill proposes:

Minimum Imprisonment: No less than 10 years and up to life-long prison.
Fine: Rs. 5 lakhs and to the extent of 10 lakhs.
Attempt to commit: up to 3-5 years imprisonment and a fine is up to 3 lakhs.

To put that in perspective, Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), an amendment that replaced Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code imposes a cap of 3 years of imprisonment. It is thus clear that the Punjab Bill brings about a new wave of harshness of such offences with a clear message zero tolerance in the state.

4. Procedural Aspects: The Bill also lays down specific procedural guidelines:

i) Investigation by DSP Rank officer: Any case brought under this Act will be investigated by a police officer not below the designation of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). This implies that there has been a desire to have more comprehensive and older supervision in the management of such sensitive cases.

ii) Cognizable, Non-Bailable and Non-Compoundable: These are very profound terms on an accused person. Cognizable implies that the arrest done by the police is immediate and without a warrant. Non-bailable implies that there is no right to bail in respect of the accused; this is a matter of choice of the court. The term non-compoundable indicates that they cannot settle that case out-of-court but have to go through a lengthy judicial procedure. The non-bailable nature, in particular, underscores the gravity assigned to these offences, making it harder for accused individuals to secure pre-trial release

The Potential Impact: On Law, Society, and Rights

The implications of the Punjab Bill, if it becomes law, are far-reaching, affecting not just criminal justice but also societal dynamics and fundamental rights.

Deterrence Factor: The main requirement is doubtlessly the deterrence of sacrilege instances. The heavy punishments particularly the life imprisonment is a great deterrence to any person that may consider such acts. In the past, such occurrences have triggered communal conflicts in Punjab and governments are hoping that this Bill will be able to restore peace. But the big question arises; will extreme legal deterrence succeed in deterring acts most usually perpetrated by people of extreme religious or ideological beliefs where the legal repercussion might be secondary?

Constitutional Scrutiny and Repugnancy (Article 254): This is the largest such legal challenge the Bill is likely to come across. Criminal Law is mentioned in a Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution which makes both the parliament and the state legislature able to exercise laws in it. But where a state statute has provisions which are inconsistent (repugnant), with a central law on the same, the latter usually takes precedence. The Punjab Bill provides quite heavier penalties to an offence (outraging religious feelings by committing sacrilege) already punishable less stringently by Section 299 of the BNS.

A state law to override on a subject matter which is concurrent with a central law must be endorsed with a Presidential Assent as considered in Article 254(2) of the Constitution. It is important to not forget that a similar 2018 Bill passed by the state of Punjab to increase penalty on sacrilege and also included other religious scriptures was not accorded Presidential assent. This piece of history is very pertinent and thus the attitude of the central government towards religious freedom and state specific laws is very vital.

Uniformity of Law and State Specificity: Although Punjab claims that there is great value in state-specific laws, such laws of strictness may cause an imbalance in the legal system of India. This would be because the same act could have combinations of immensely different consequences on being punished according to different states which almost looks like an ad hoc approach to laws that are like blasphemy. This may as well be used as a precedence by other states to enact such strict laws with regards to the specific religious texts in their states thus further dividing the commonness of criminal law.

Conclusion: Awaiting the President's Verdict

The Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025 indicates the dire need of the state to take the rather sensitive measure of sacrilege more seriously. As much as its aim in retaining the communal harmony has been merited, its passage to becoming an act is streamed with constitutional and legislative difficulties, especially related with its possible conflicting nature with central criminal codes of law and the urgent need to have Presidential approval.

The future effect of this Bill will however just not lie in its conclusions and the manner in which it is interpreted by the judiciary but most importantly whether it passes the test of Presidential assent, which would in its turn determine whether Punjab is even able to shape a unique and more severe legal framework to sacrilege crimes.

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