- Amendments need presidential approval, as Legislative Assembly passes Bill
CHANDIGARH: India’s Punjab Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed Bills for an amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) to make sacrilege of all religious texts punishable with life imprisonment.
The Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, has inserted Section 295AA to the IPC to provide that whoever causes injury, damage or sacrilege to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Gita, Holy Quran and Holy Bible with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people, shall be punished with imprisonment for life.
“In the Indian Penal Code, 1860, in its application to the state of Punjab, in section 295, for the words two years, the words 10 years shall be substituted,” according to the Bill. In the recent past, there have been attempts to disturb peace and communal harmony in the state by committing sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Gita and Holy Quran, said Amarinder Singh, the chief minister, in a statement.
He said that the government was determined not to allow such incidents and ensure deterrent action against all those who commit such blasphemy. The proposed Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, aim to achieve this objective by providing punishment of life imprisonment for such acts of sacrileges.
The amendments would need the assent of the Indian president. Under the existing Section 295A, punishment is for a maximum of three years imprisonment with or without fine.
