On July 14, 2025, the Punjab government approved the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025 during a cabinet meeting.
The Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill 2025, aims to strengthen measures against the desecration of sacred texts, including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Holy Quran, and Bible, by amending existing penalties to impose stricter punishments.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the objective of this law is to maintain religious harmony and prevent incidents of sacrilege. The bill has been presented in the Punjab Legislative Assembly session.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha during the discussion on the ‘Punjab Prevention of Crimes against Holy Scriptures Bill-2025’ that finding the report of Justice Gurnam Singh Commission will reveal the truth about the sacrilege incidents of 1986. Supporting this bill, he said that this law will play an important role in maintaining religious harmony in the state and preventing incidents of sacrilege.
However, some individuals and political leaders have raised concerns about the effectiveness of this law, especially given the ongoing issues with law and order in Punjab.
For more details on the bill, you can refer to official government notifications or the Punjab Legislative Assembly’s official website.
Major Incidents of Sacrilege from 1984 to 2025
● Operation Blue Star 1984:
During the military operation at Sri Harmandir Sahib in 1984, bullets were fired at copies of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, resulting in damage to the sacred scripture. This incident deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community.
● Nakodar 1986:
On 2 February 1986, five Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji were burnt at Gurdwara Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Nakodar. This sacrilege incident caused huge outrage in the Sikh community, as Sri Guru Granth Sahib is considered a living Guru in Sikhism, and its sacrilege is considered a serious crime.
On 4 February 1986, Sikh organisations and congregation held a peaceful demonstration in Nakodar to protest against this sacrilege and demand the reverence and completion of the forms of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. However, during this demonstration, Punjab Police and security forces opened fire on the protesters, in which four Sikh youths—Ravinder Singh Litran, Harminder Singh Chhallpur, Baldhir Singh Ramgarh, and Jhilman Singh Gorsian—were martyred.
The Justice Gurnam Singh Commission was appointed to investigate the incident, but even after nearly 40 years, the culprits have not been identified.
Justice Gurnam Singh submitted his report to the Punjab government on 31 October 1986. The report was in two parts:
● Part One: details of the incident, discussion of evidence, and conclusions.
Part Two: contained evidence, witness statements, and documents, which is known as “Part B”.
● Highlights of the report: The report held the Jalandhar police and civil administration responsible for the Nakodar firing. It called the then SHO of Nakodar Jaskirat Singh Chahal a “trigger-happy inspector” and described the death of Harminder Singh & Sikh Protesters as a “cold-blooded murder by a public servant”.
The report raised questions on police officials, such as Jalandhar SSP Izhar Alam, SP (Operations) Ashwani Kumar Sharma, and Deputy Commissioner Darbara Singh Guru.
Missing Part B: The first part of the report was presented in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 2001, The report of Justice Gurnam Singh Commission is important for the investigation of the Nakodar massacre, but due to the missing second part of it, the full truth could not be revealed.
The efforts of the Punjab government and the High Court are ongoing, but so far complete justice has not been achieved on this issue.
Bargari and Other Incidents 2015
● Bargari, Faridkot (October 12, 2015):
110 pages of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib were found torn, leading to widespread protests by the Sikh community. On October 14, two Sikh protesters were killed in police firing during demonstrations.
● Mishriwala, Firozpur:
35 pages of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib were found desecrated. Villagers expelled a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and set his motorcycle on fire.
● Bath, Tarn Taran:
39 pages of the sacred text were found torn, and one protester died of a heart attack during a protest march.
● Kohrian, Faridkot:
745 pages of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib were found with 3-inch cuts.
● Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Faridkot (June 1, 2015)
A copy of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara. Sikh leaders issued an ultimatum to the police to apprehend the culprits, but no significant action was taken.
Police and Government Response (2015):
The police faced allegations of attacking Sikh protesters, resulting in two deaths. Sukhbir Singh Badal, then Deputy Chief Minister, ordered the withdrawal of charges against protesters and announced a ₹1 crore reward for identifying the culprits. However, most cases remained unresolved.
Allegations were made against followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, but the police did not confirm these claims.
Malerkotla 2016: Desecration of the Holy Quran
On June 24, 2016, in Malerkotla, Punjab’s only Muslim-majority city, torn pages of the Holy Quran were found near a graveyard on Khanna Road. According to Shahzad Hussain, president of the Punjab Muslim Front, over 1,000 pages from two new copies of the Quran were desecrated. This incident, occurring during the holy month of Ramadan, caused significant tension in the city.
Angry crowds blocked the National Highway by burning tires and attacked the residence of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Farzana Nissara Khatoon and her husband, former DGP Izhar Alam, setting fire to a security personnel’s room. Clashes between the police and the mob injured eight people, including the SP and his deputy. The police had to fire shots in the air to control the situation.
● Main Accused: On June 27, 2016, the police arrested three individuals—Vijay Kumar, Gaurav Kumar, and Nand Kishor. Vijay Kumar, a Delhi-based businessman and former RSS pracharak, confessed to desecrating the Quran at the behest of AAP MLA Naresh Yadav from Mehrauli, Delhi. Vijay claimed Yadav offered him ₹1 crore to create communal tension ahead of the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections.
● Legal Action: On July 24, 2016, Punjab Police arrested Naresh Yadav from Delhi, charging him under IPC sections 295A (outraging religious feelings), 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
On March 16, 2021, a Sangrur court acquitted Naresh Yadav and Nand Kishor due to lack of evidence but convicted Vijay Kumar and Gaurav Kumar, sentencing them to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a ₹11,000 fine under IPC sections 295A and 120B.
Following an appeal by complainant Muhammad Ashraf, a Malerkotla court convicted Naresh Yadav on November 30, 2024, sentencing him to two years in prison and a ₹11,000 fine on December 1, 2024. The sentences of Vijay Kumar and Gaurav Kumar were upheld, while Nand Kishor’s acquittal was maintained.Other Related Incidents
● Sunam, Sangrur (August 2016):
Two months after the Malerkotla incident, torn pages of the Holy Quran were found in a mosque’s bathroom and on its roof in Mahila Chowk village, Sangrur. The accused, Muhammad Israr, the brother-in-law of the mosque’s maulvi Muhammad Mustafa, was arrested. Investigations revealed that Israr acted out of personal enmity to defame the maulvi.
● Nakodar, Jalandhar (July 2019):
A suspected desecration of the Holy Quran was reported in a mosque, but investigations found that no religious book was burnt. The accused, Shaukat Ali, had burnt physics and English books and damaged the mosque’s water taps due to personal enmity.
Situation from 2015 to 2025
According to the Ranjit Singh Commission Report, several sacrilege incidents between 2015 and 2018 remained unresolved, with no action taken against the culprits in many cases.
In November 2015, the Punjab government passed a proposal to increase the punishment for desecration of religious texts from three years to life imprisonment, which became law on March 22, 2016.
The current Punjab government introduced the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Act, 2025, which proposes punishments ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for desecrating religious texts.