Akal Takht Jathedar: Consensus on not accepting anti-sacrilege law

Addressing reporters after a special meeting Sikh organisations, scholars and legal experts, Gargajj, said that the new law was framed by the the state government without taking either the Akal Takht or the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee into confidence. He said a consensus emerged in the meeting that the law formulated “without the consent of the Khalsa Panth and Sri Akal Takht Sahib should not be accepted”.

He asserted that matters related to Sri Guru Granth Sahib are internal religious affairs of the Sikh community, and no government can impose laws on Sikhs in this regard. The government, he said, must clarify why representative Sikh institutions were ignored.

Earlier, during the meeting of at Bhai Gurdas Hall, the Jathedar expressed concern that the new law could be misinterpreted and misused. He also criticised the AAP government for its alleged failure to fulfil promises of justice in connection with the 2015 sacrilege incidents in the state.

Ex-serviceman Gurjit Singh Khalsa, who had been protesting atop a mobile tower since October 2024, demanding a law against sacrilege, was not present in the meeting.

Speaking on behalf of Sikh priests, SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur raised apprehensions over specific clauses in the Act that define the responsibilities of custodians of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

“This law could be misinterpreted to hold priests responsible for sacrilege,” she said. “The government has failed to arrest the accused in many sacrilege cases, but under the new law, priests could be prosecuted for negligence if they fail to prevent an incident.”

The speakers noted that instead of focusing on punishing those responsible for sacrilege and delivering justice to Sikhs, the law places greater responsibility on Sikh institutions, gurdwara managements, the sangat, granthis. It was also observed that such measures could create obstacles in the propagation of the Sikh faith and may alienate the Sikh community from the Guru Sahib, it said.

Gargajj noted that making public information about who has been issued a ‘Saroop’ (holy scripture) of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib could lead to misuse.

“People could weaponise this information against rivals who have installed a Saroop in their homes,” he said. He questioned why the SGPC should disclose such data and how doing so would help stop sacrilege. He emphasised that the failure to curb sacrilege was not due to a lack of online records, but because of the government’s inability to arrest and prosecute the actual culprits.

“We want a strong law against sacrilege, but it must be drafted in consultation with top Sikh institutions,” he asserted.

The Jathedar said that the ‘Khalsa Panth’ does not oppose strict laws aimed at punishing those guilty of sacrilege. However, bringing Sikh sentiments, concerns and matters related to Sri Guru Granth Sahib under the ambit of state legislation is unacceptable.

Referring to sacrilege incidents in Punjab, the Jathedar said that despite two successive governments since the incidents began, the “real culprits have not been brought to justice”. He pointed out that cases related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents were transferred outside Punjab, and the present government has not made concrete efforts to bring them back.

Addressing a ‘Lok Milni’ outreach programme at village Ghogra in in Hoshiarpur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the law has “closed the chapter” on sacrilege incidents by making them punishable with up to life imprisonment.

He alleged that previous governments lacked the intent to bring such a law despite repeated incidents.

“If the opposition had honest intentions, they would have enacted a strict law long ago. We have now ensured that anyone indulging in beadbi (sacrilege) will face the harshest punishment,” Mann said.

Earlier, Punjab Police on Thursday had registered its first case under the new law booking unidentified persons after torn pages of a religious scripture were found in a slum area in Malout area of Sri Muktsar Sahib district.