Akal Takht asks Punjab govt. to revise anti-sacrilege law, remove clauses contrary to Sikh sentiments

Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal authority, has asked the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab to re-amend the recently passed anti-sacrilege amendment law in accordance with Sikh sentiments and eliminate objectionable clauses. The government has been given a month’s time to comply.

At a meeting with invited Sikh Ministers of the State Cabinet and Sikh MLAs in Amritsar on Monday (June 29, 2026), the Akal Takht asserted that the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act 2026 “was passed by the government without the opinion and consent of the Akal Takht Sahib, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Guru Khalsa Panth.”

The legislation, passed in the State Assembly unanimously on April 13, was aimed at giving harsher punishment for acts of sacrilege against Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism. However, Sikh clergy objected to certain clauses of the law. Hence, the Akal Takht called for the meeting.

After the discussions on Monday (June 29), Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj, who heads the Akal Takht, said the State government should re-amend the legislation in accordance with Sikh sentiments and eliminate the objectionable clauses within a month. He also asked the government to include in the law a provision that if a follower of an anti-Sikh Dera (sect) or a person associated with such Dera deliberately commits sacrilege, then a case should be registered against the head of the concerned Dera too, according of a statement from the Akal Takht secretariat.

‘MLAs did not read draft’

Mr. Gargajj said that all Ministers and MLAs present at the meeting agreed to make further amendments to the law in line with Sikh sentiments. He also said that most of the MLAs admitted that they had not read the draft of the amendment before passing it, which showed that the law had been passed by the government in a hurry, without understanding its seriousness and sensitivity. He said that 87 MLAs, including Ministers, were present at the meeting.

The amendment law proposed harsher punishment, including life imprisonment, for acts of sacrilege. It was passed to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, enacted by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government in 2008. The 2008 Act aimed to ensure proper respect and care of the Guru Granth Sahib, revered as the eternal “living” Guru of Sikhism.

Talking to media persons after the meeting, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The Jathedar has proposed certain amendments, which will be forwarded through the Punjab Assembly Speaker. Upon receipt, a decision will be taken within a month after due deliberation.”

Meanwhile, Opposition parties took a dig at the AAP government. Punjab’s Leader of Opposition, Congress’s Partap Singh Bajwa, said that the manner in which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal handled the legislation reflected their disregard for Sikh principles, traditions, and institutions. He alleged that instead of building a broad Panthic (community) consensus on such a sensitive issue, the government chose to rush the legislation through the Assembly without meaningful consultation with the Sikh community.

Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab Minister Daljit Cheema said, “It was disappointing to see that many MLAs did not even have proper information about the newly enacted law while passing it and many had not even read it. The Chief Minister’s misleading interpretation of the word ‘custodian’ has also been exposed. It would be good if the Punjab government withdraws the law and limits it to punishing those guilty of sacrilege, leaving the matter of maryada (code of conduct) to Sri Akal Takht Sahib.”