The Punjab government led by the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday passed the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Vidhan Sabha and the Bill was passed unanimously with the members of the Sant Samaj and leaders from various deras present in the House during the discussion.
The Bill aims to bring stricter punishment in cases related to disrespect of the Guru Granth Sahib and as per the proposal punishment can range from 10 years to life imprisonment and along with that it also includes fines between ₹5 lakh and ₹25 lakh and in some cases property of the accused can be confiscated. The Bill also states that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee will be the custodian of all saroops (physical copies) of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa questioned whether the Bill would require approval from the President of India and responding to this Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Bill does not need Presidential approval and only requires the Governor’s consent and mentions that the main aim of the law is to stop incidents of sacrilege and ensure respect for the Guru Granth Sahib.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also clarified that this is an amendment to the 2008 Act, and therefore, Presidential assent is not required whereas Shiromani Akali Dal rebel MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali supported the Bill and demanded that cases related to sacrilege should be fast-tracked.
Chief Minister Mann also informed the House that a select committee led by Inderbir Singh Nijjar will soon submit its report. This committee is looking into similar cases related to other religious texts and will also examine the 1986 Nakodar firing incident.