CHANDIGARH, May 2: Punjab Police registered a first case under the new anti-sacrilege law after torn pages of a religious scripture were found in a slum area in Sri Muktsar Sahib district.
The case was registered on Thursday night following a compliant of torn pages of ‘Sukhmani Sahib Gutka’ were found in Kuchian Mohalla in Malout in Sri Muktsar Sahib, a police official said.
The FIR has been registered against unknown persons, Deputy Superintendent of Police Harjeet Singh said on Saturday.
The pages of the Gutka Sahib have been handed over to a gurdwara, police said.
The FIR has been lodged against Section 299 (criminalises deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or beliefs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 5 of the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.
The Punjab Government last month notified the anti-sacrilege law –the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026 — which proposes stricter punishment, including life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 25 lakh, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book.
The AAP Government on April 13 had convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, to deter incidents of ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) and uphold the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib.
According to the law, any person who commits sacrilege shall get a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment, extendable to up to 20 years, along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Any person who, in a criminal conspiracy, commits sacrilege with the intention of disrupting peace or communal harmony shall get a minimum 10-year sentence, extendable to up to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 5 lakh, which may go up to Rs 25 lakh, as per the law. (PTI)
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