India, April 13 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday introduced the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, proposing life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs.25 lakh for the sacrilege (beadbi) of the Guru Granth Sahib. The move aims to provide a stringent legal deterrent against attempts to disturb communal harmony through organised acts of desecration.

The Bill defines sacrilege as "any wilful and deliberate act, committed with the intent of desecration by way of physical damaging, defacing, burning, tearing or theft of the Saroop(s) of Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib or part thereof, or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or through ele...