Akal Takht Asks Punjab Government to Keep Anti-Sacrilege Law in Abeyance, Revise Key Provisions
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New Delhi: Punjab’s recently enacted anti-sacrilege legislation has come under fresh fire after the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the Sikh community, on Monday (June 29) asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government to revise key provisions within a month and keep the law in abeyance until then. While reiterating its support for stringent punishment for acts of sacrilege involving the Guru Granth Sahib, the central holy scripture of Sikhism, the Takht said aspects of the law needed reconsideration to better reflect Sikh religious principles and traditions, reported The Hindu.
The Takht argued the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, was ratified without sufficient consultation with Sikh religious institutions such as itself, the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Guru Khalsa Panth. The body asserted that legislations pertaining to Sikh doctrine should be framed only after a comprehensive engagement with the Sikh Panth.
The Takht had first objected to what it termed as “objectionable clauses” in May, as previously reported by The Wire, giving the Punjab government 15 days to amend them. At the time, chief minister Bhagwant........
