The Akal Takht gave the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government a month to remove certain “objectionable” clauses in its anti-sacrilege law, as almost all Sikh legislators cutting across party lines, including 78 MLAs and nine ministers, appeared before it on Monday.
The Sikh community’s highest temporal authority also asked the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government to put on hold the implementation of the new anti-sacrilege law, The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, until “corrective” amendments are made.
The ministers and legislators apparently agreed to revise provisions in the law over which the Akal Takht raised objections for “violating” the Sikh religious doctrine and governance.
Last week, the Akal Takht had summoned 89 Sikh legislators in connection with the amended anti-sacrilege legislation which, it said, had been passed by the Punjab government “without consultation or consent from Sri Akal Takht Sahib, SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) and Guru Khalsa panth”.
“We will give you our objections in writing. Call your House and remove those objections,” Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargajj told the legislators during Monday’s meeting that continued for a couple of hours.
The meeting was presided over by the five-member Akal Takht panel led by Jathedar Gurgajj that included the Golden Temple head priest Baljeet Singh, Takht Damdma Sahib Jathedar Tek Singh, Keval Singh and Mangal Singh.
Later, the AAP’s Amritsar South MLA Inderbir Singh Nijjar said the government is ready to make the any amendments to the law if needed.
CM Mann was not summoned for the meeting. On June 15, the Akal Takht declared Mann “Guru dokhi” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa panth virodhi” (anti-Khalsa community) and called for his boycott over an alleged sacrilege video. The CM has maintained that he was not the person in the video and that it was “fabricated” to defame him.
Akal Takht’s ‘objections’
The Akal Takht underlined that while sacrilege acts must be punished, the legislature had gone too far in defining religious vocabulary, custodial roles and registry mechanisms – matters which, it argued, fall within the ambit of the Sikh institutions like the Takhts and SGPC.
“We have no objection to punishment – if someone is guilty, give punishment. But you do not have the right to decide Sikh vocabulary. Sikh vocabulary will be decided by the Akal Takht and panth,” Gargajj told the legislators.
He asserted that historical terms such as bir (a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib) cannot be replaced by words like saroop without panthic consent, as done by the anti-sacrilege law.
The hearing also focused on the amended Act’s definition of “custodian” and its provision for creation of a central register of saroops with unique identification numbers. Gargajj pressed for precise remedies and demanded that damaged saroops be treated not as private property but as sacred objects. “After an incident where a saroop is damaged, it should go to the nearest gurdwara,” he said.
He also warned that posting registry details online could expose private homes and gurdwaras to scrutiny and potential penal action. “If you put unique numbers and records on a website, everyone will know where each saroop is kept. Who will be held responsible if something goes wrong?” Gargajj asked.
The Akal Takht Jathedar however acknowledged the need for firm action against deliberate offenders and for protective measures at gurdwaras, including 24 hour sevadaar duty where required.
He reiterated that religious definitions, custodial rights, and rules based on the Sikh code of conduct must be determined by the panth. “Gurmat must decide these questions; the Assembly cannot substitute its judgment,” he said.
Stances of govt, MLAs
AAP Minister Harpal Cheema said the government will hold deliberations once it receives the Akal Takht’s proposed amendments and that a decision would be taken within a month.
The Akal Takht said it would send its objections and suggestions in writing to the government through Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
After the meeting, Sandhwan, an AAP leader, said the discussion had been “long and meaningful”, adding that the matter would now be taken up by the government for reconsideration. He stressed that the Akal Takht is a “very sacred throne” and that its dignity and honour must be respected.
The anti-sacrilege amendment Bill was unanimously passed by the Punjab Assembly on April 13, which stipulates stricter punishment, including life imprisonment, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
Several MLAs told the Akal Takht that they had received the Bill on short notice and had little time to study such a law with “serious consequences”. “The Cabinet approved the Bill on April 11, it was posted on the website late on April 12, and we received it on April 13,” Congress MLA Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa said.
Even AAP MLAs Jagrup Singh Gill and Kulwant Singh said they had not read the full draft of the legislation before it was passed.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa demanded that the Select Committee’s report on the anti-sacrilege law must be first tabled and discussed in the House. “This Committee recorded many views over nine months. Please present that report before proceeding on the matter,” he said.
LoP Bajwa’s Congress colleague and ex-minister Sukhpal Singh Khaira accused the government of pushing the Bill in “secrecy and haste”.
Akali Dal (Warris Punjab De) MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali said the intent of the law may be right, but it should not be left open to “misuse”.
The Akal Takht said it would sent the detailed written objections and technical suggestions through Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. Express Photo 
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